The New York Stock Exchange did a 180 and abruptly dropped plans to delist three major Chinese telecommunications companies. The decision came after the NYSE consulted regulators pertaining to an investment ban enacted by President Donald Trump. Just days before the companies were to be delisted and just two weeks before Trump will leave the White House, the switch in policy threatens to push US-China tensions even further. The NYSE board gave no reason for the decision during a statement made by the company.
The NYSE maintains that it has only consulted relevant regulatory authorities about Trump’s executive order, which was signed in November as part of a plan to check China’s growing economic power. The telecommunications companies set to be delisted previously were China Mobile Ltd., China Telecom Corp, and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. The decision shocked investors who, on Monday, had sold shares of the Chinese telecom companies and quickly sought to bet on which stocks might be delisted next.
Read More: NYSE Abruptly Reverses Plan to Delist Chinese Telecom Companies