China audit strife prompts patriotic retort
Disagreements over audit inspections led a Chinese official to call for US-listed companies to "de-list and come home"
AUDIT TROUBLES have led one Chinese official to urge US-listed overseas companies to “delist there and come back home”, saying Chinese and Hong Kong stock exchanges would welcome them.
Zhou Qinye, vice-general manager of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, said accounting problems only affect a minority of Chinese companies yet investors are shorting them for profit, Reuters reports.
US watchdog the PCAOB has again highlighted concerns about China blocking inspection of US-listed companies and little progress has so far been made since the regulator visited Beijing this summer.
“The current situation is the result of some institutions seeking to politicise the matter and it’s difficult to predict where things are heading,” said Zhou Qinye.
“For the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, this could be an opportunity, as we know that many overseas-listed Chinese companies are not bad. So we welcome those China stocks to return home,” he added.