Asian Tech Press (Apr. 22) -- The U.S. SEC on Thursday added China's Zhihu, Li Auto and 15 other firms to a growing list of companies facing possible delisting from American stock exchanges.
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)'s updates, seventeen Chinese companies on Thursday were added to the "Provisional list of issuers" identified under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA).
It is the fifth batch of Chinese companies to be added to the list since March, including Quora-like Zhihu Inc., express company BEST Inc., EV maker Li Auto Inc., real-estate brokerage company KE Holdings Inc., etc.
The SEC claimed the 17 companies have until May 12 to submit evidence to prove that they were incorrectly identified.
As the only Chinese auto company currently on the list, Li Auto responded that the inclusion is not equivalent to a U.S. delisting.
According to Li Auto, the company has completed its primary listing in Hong Kong last year, and the stocks of the two markets are interchangeable, and its Hong Kong listing will not be affected by the regulation related to its American depositary shares.
Zhihu Inc. responded by saying that the company has completed its dual primary listing in Hong Kong and will closely monitor the progress subsequently, and that the incident will have limited impact on Zhihu.
The Quora-like platform was officially listed in Hong Kong on Friday, with the offering price set at HK$32.06 per share.
However, as of the close of trading, Zhihu shares were priced at HK$24.50, with a total market value of HK$7.99 billion, down 23.58%.
Online housing broker KE Holdings responded that the company "has been actively seeking possible solutions to maximize the protection of shareholders' interests."
"KE Holdings will continue to ensure compliance with relevant U.S. and Chinese laws and regulations, and maintain the company's status as a listed company on the New York Stock Exchange as conditions permit," it added.
Mobile big data solutions provider Aurora Mobile, which was added to the list this time, issued a statement saying it will continue to actively pursue solutions to protect the interests of shareholders and maintain the company's listing status on the NASDAQ market as conditions permit.
BEST Inc, which sold off its China express business last year, has not yet responded.
