China’s regulator soothes nervous markets over Chinese stocks’ delisting woes after global sell-off

China’s regulator soothes nervous markets over Chinese stocks’ delisting woes after global sell-off

China's securities regulator said it maintains an open attitude to where companies seek to raise funds and respects their choices, denying reports of any imminent restrictions on overseas listings as it soothes market jitters to reverse a global sell-off of Chinese stocks.

Reports that regulators are pushing for so-called variable interest entities (VIE) to drop their listings in the United States are a "complete misreading and misinterpretation" of the regulations, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on Sunday, without identifying the report.

The statement followed a sell-off of offshore listed Chinese stocks after Didi Global announced its plan to delist from New York to raise capital in Hong Kong instead, a mere five months after it defied Chinese regulators' injunctions to list in the United States. Didi's drastic U-turn raised concerns that antitrust crackdowns that have wiped out nearly US$1 trillion in the value of Chinese stocks offshore may extend and expand into broader areas.