NYSE to delist three Chinese telecoms in a surprising about-face

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has finally decided to delist three Chinese telecom companies, confirming its latest U-turn on the matter a day after US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told the NYSE chief he disagreed with an earlier decision to reverse the delistings.

The latest move, which is effective January 11, marks the third time in less than a week the Big Board has ruled on the issue.

The flip-flopping highlights the confusion over which firms were included in an executive order issued by President Donald Trump in November barring US persons from investing in publically traded companies Washington deems to be tied to the Chinese military.

It also comes amid escalating tensions within Washington on China policy in the final days of the Trump administration.

The NYSE originally on Thursday announced plans to delist China Mobile Ltd, China Telecom Corp Ltd and China Unicom Hong Kong Ltd. On Monday, it did a U-turn after consulting with regulators in connection with the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and decided to keep them listed. Wednesday's decision marks a return to the original plan.

Trump's executive order technically takes effect on Jan. 11 but does not ban purchases by US investors until November.

While the directive stops short of forcing a delisting, a separate bill signed into law by Trump in November will kick Chinese companies off US bourses if they do not fully comply with the country's auditing rules in three years.