Reports that the Trump Administration is considering blocking the listing of Chinese companies on U.S. exchanges was apparently “fake news.”
“The administration is not contemplating blocking Chinese companies from listing shares on U.S. stock exchanges at this time,” Treasury spokeswoman Monica Crowley told Bloomberg.
Even White House trade adviser, Peter Navarro dismissed such reports as fake news.
“That story, which appeared in Bloomberg: I’ve read it far more carefully than it was written,” Navarro said, as quoted by Reuters. “Over half of it was highly inaccurate or simply flat-out false. It was really irresponsible journalism and the problem we have here … these bad stories push out the good. And what happens is as soon as Bloomberg puts it out there, there’s pressure from others to put it out there. This story was just so full of inaccuracies and in terms of the truth of the matter, what the Treasury said I think was accurate.”
You may remember Bloomberg initially reported the Administration was considering a number of steps against China, including delisting Chinese companies and limiting U.S. investor exposure to China through Chinese government pension funds.
In addition, China warned of instability in international markets from any “decoupling’ of China and the U.S. if the news was true.
“Exerting maximum pressure and even seeking the forced decoupling of China-U.S. relations will harm the interests of Chinese and American companies and people, create turmoil in financial markets, and endanger global trade and economic growth,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang, as quoted by Reuters. “This does not accord with the interests of the international community.”
Realization of Fake News Sends Chinese Stocks Higher
When the story first appeared, Chinese stocks slipped.
However, on this new news, they’re slowly recovering. Aliababa (BABA) for example is up 1.4%, or $2.31 a share. Baidu (BIDU) is up 1.4%, or $1.46 on the day. Tencent (TCEHY) is up nearly 3%, or $1.13 to $42.02. Pinduoduo (PDD) is up 3.5% to $3.40.
As we near trade talks in D.C. mid-October 2019, there’s hope for further upside.
