China Telecom, one of China’s state-run telecoms groups, has been cleared to raise $8.4 billion in Shanghai after being forced off the New York Stock Exchange, in what would be the country’s biggest listing in a decade, reported the Financial Times.
The company was booted from the New York Stock Exchange along with state-run peers China Mobile and China Unicom in January to comply with an executive order signed by Donald Trump that prohibited Americans from investing in businesses with alleged ties to China’s military.
China Telecom, which is also listed in Hong Kong, received approval on Thursday from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to sell up to 12.1bn shares. It plans to raise RMB 54.4 billion ($8.4 billion) on the main board of the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
“It’s increasingly likely that more delistings are going to happen,” said Thomas Gatley, an analyst at Gavekal Dragonomics. He said those companies would “inevitably” look to stock markets in mainland China or Hong Kong.