The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday put Alibaba on its watch list of Chinese firms that face removal from American exchanges
Alibaba Group Holding, which raised US$25 billion from its initial public offering in 2014, could end up being the biggest Chinese firm to be delisted in the US if it does not meet the country’s audit requirements. Photo: Shutterstock
Alibaba Group Holding has been added to a growing list of Chinese companies that face potential delisting from US stock exchanges, days after the e-commerce giant announced plans to seek a primary listing on Hong Kong’s bourse with the aim to diversify its investor base.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday included Alibaba, owner of the South China Morning Post, to its watch list of US-listed Chinese firms that face removal from American exchanges under a 2020 law, the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA).
Under that law, foreign companies may be delisted if they fail to submit their audit papers to a US accounting oversight body for three consecutive years. This means the three-year countdown for Alibaba to comply with the requirement has started.
