China Tech Stocks Slide for Second Day Amid U.S. Delisting Risks

Charlotte Yang and Ishika Mookerjee, Bloomberg News

An electronic screen displays the stock figures for companies including Tencent Holdings Ltd., Meituan and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. in Hong Kong, China, on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Chinese stocks suffered another deep selloff on Tuesday as concerns about the country’s ties with Russia and persistent regulatory pressure sent shares on a downward spiral. Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg , Bloomberg

(Bloomberg) -- Chinese technology stocks slumped for a second day amid continued concern about the risk of local firms getting kicked off American exchanges.

The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks some of the biggest Chinese firms in the sector, lost as much as 3.9% in early trading on Friday. It fell 1.4% on Thursday after the U.S. securities regulator played down the prospect of an imminent deal to keep Chinese companies listed there.

Baidu Inc., which was added to the list of firms facing possible delisting, tumbled as much as 8.8% while Bilibili Inc. dropped more than 8%. Both were among the worst performers on the tech gauge.

“A solution between the U.S. and China regulators may not be as near as previously hoped,” said Marvin Chen, an analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. “Markets may have gotten ahead of themselves over the past two weeks.”

The two-day selloff in tech names shows that investors remain on edge amid a long-standing dispute over whether American regulators can get full access to U.S.-traded Chinese company audits. In response comments by the Securities and Exchange Commission chair, China said talks with the U.S. accounting watchdog will continue.

Having lost about a third of its value last year amid Beijing’s relentless crackdown on the sector, the Hang Seng Tech Index has plunged another 22% so far in 2022 as investors remained concerned about further regulatory action. Beijing is preparing new regulations on the live-streaming industry including a daily cap on tipping, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. Later that afternoon, China’s regulators pledged to eradicate crimes including tax evasion on such platforms.

The losses in tech shares continue to weigh on Hong Kong’s broader market, with the Hang Seng Index down 2% on Friday.

“My gut feeling is that there is a strong chance that they (American Depositary Receipts) will get delisted in a few years. I know both the regulators are working but I think there’s a reasonable chance in the future,” said Sean Taylor, Asia-Pacific chief investment officer at DWS, adding that they are still happy to hold ADRs provided there’s another listing elsewhere.

READ: Chinese ADRs Off to Worst Start Since 2008 on Delisting Threat