Elbridge Colby Quoted in the Financial Times

The New York Stock Exchange has begun delisting China’s three largest state-run telecom groups to comply with a Trump administration executive order barring US investors from holding stakes in companies suspected of having ties to the Chinese military.

The move by the US’s largest exchange follows similar restrictions from index providers and will restrict the Chinese companies’ access to capital from American investors.

China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom all maintain listings in Hong Kong, which will limit the damage of being removed from the NYSE. State-backed China Mobile, the country’s largest mobile network operator, brought in $107bn in revenue last year. China Telecom had sales of $54bn and China Unicom reported $42bn.

The NYSE said the companies had the right to review the decision, with the delistings set to begin as early as January 7.

China Mobile, China Telecom and China Unicom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The exchange said the decision was made to comply with an executive order signed by Donald Trump, US president, in November. The order prohibited new transactions in shares of Chinese businesses that the Pentagon alleged have ties to the Chinese military from January 11 2021 and gave existing shareholders until November to divest their holdings.

Elbridge Colby, a former Trump administration official who helped shape a tougher line on China, described the step as “long overdue”.