The New York Stock Exchange is considering reversing course a second time to delist three major Chinese telecommunications firms after conferring further with senior authorities on how to interpret an executive order Trump issued Nov. 12, according to people familiar with the matter. Lawyers said the drama, whipsawing markets in recent days, is exposing the ambiguities of the government’s instructions.
The trio of companies — China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp. and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. — lost more than $30 billion in market value in the final weeks of 2020 as investors pulled back following Trump’s order. They shed as much as $12 billion more as their American depositary receipts tumbled Monday on the NYSE’s decision to delist them. Prices climbed Tuesday after the NYSE canceled the delisting, and then they softened anew after Bloomberg broke the news that the exchange may proceed after all.