The New York Stock Exchange will delist China’s three large telecom carriers, after a U.S. government order barring Americans from investing in companies it says help the Chinese military.
The NYSE decision is the latest setback for U.S. investors in these companies, which rank among the largest global telecommunications providers but have largely lagged behind the broader markets since the companies began listing here more than two decades ago.
The exchange’s decision is unlikely to seriously harm the Chinese telecom giants in the near term. Mounting pressure from Washington has already stymied their ability to operate in the U.S., a country that makes up a negligible amount of their international business.
The top three service providers still benefit from hundreds of millions of customers in their home country. That has attracted investors to their Chinese-listed shares. The cellphone carriers have spent billions of dollars on new fifth-generation wireless networks