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Chinese searching engine giant Baidu saw its shares slide over 1 percent at Thursday's opening bell following reports that the tech firm is planning to delist from the US NASDAQ stock exchange and move to a public destination closer to the domestic market.
Baidu confirmed with the Global Times Thursday that the delisting was not true and had no comment on the market rumors.
The response came after a Reuters report claimed the firm was considering a NASDAQ departure while moving to an exchange closer to home to boost its valuation amid rising tensions between China and the US over investments, citing three sources.
Baidu stock rose 1.55 percent to $109.86 as of press time.
Baidu is considering taking steps to deal with the US government's oppressive attitude toward foreign firms, including a possible secondary listing in another market such as Hong Kong, said Baidu Chairman Robin Li Yanhong, who is also a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), China's top political advisory body, according to recent media reports.
The third session of the 13th National Committee of CPPCC commenced on Thursday in Beijing.
Market news about Baidu's plan to be listed in Hong Kong first surfaced as early as January this year.
The US' moving to crack down on Chinese listed firms is poised to accelerate that pace, industry analysts said.
The US Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that could ban many Chinese companies from listing shares on US exchanges or raising money from American investors without adhering to the US government's regulatory and audit standards.
Stemming from the Chinese coffee startup Luckin's sales fraud scandal, China-based firms have been forced to tighten regulations, and it is a natural trend for them to go secondary listing on the A-share market or choose the Hong Kong stock exchange, Chen Li, managing director at Beijing-based Chuancai Securities Research Institute, told the Global Times Thursday.
"As the Chinese capital market is opening up more, it will be a good choice for tech giants like Baidu to launch a secondary listing near the home market," said Chen.
Chinese tech giant Alibaba smashed the record for the largest IPO of 2019 in its debut in Hong Kong, where it launched as a secondary listing last November.
Alibaba went public in 2014 in the New York Stock Exchange.
As China is beefing up investment along with research and development in high technologies, big tech firms like Baidu are likely to have its evaluation boosted and obtain more attention by investors if they lead the way back home for a secondary offering, said Chen.