Photo: CFP

Chinese electric vehicle (EV) start-up Nio announced on Friday that it has received a conditional eligibility-to-list letter from the Singapore bourse, making it the latest US-listed Chinese company to move forward with a secondary listing plan amid US threats of delisting and rising geopolitical tensions between the world's two largest economies.

According to the announcement, the listing would be completed by way of introduction on the main board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading, meaning that the firm won't issue new shares or raise capital. The company's shares listed in Singapore will be fully fungible with its American depositary shares. 

Earlier in March, Nio completed a secondary listing in Hong Kong, also by way of introduction. Nio said that time the secondary listing in Hong Kong is not aimed at raising funds, but to "provide investors with back-up trading places, mitigate geopolitical risks, and expanding investors group without sacrificing the interests of shareholders," news website jiemian.com reported.

Industry insiders described Nio's secondary listing plan as a "risk-aversion" strategy, giving US' intensified crackdown on Chinese companies, rising uncertainty in international relations and a rout on US markets.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday added more than 80 Chinese firms, including Nio, e-commerce platforms JD.com, Pinduoduo, and EV-maker Li Auto and Xpeng, to a list of entities facing possible delisting from US bourses, citing its so-called Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (HFCAA), which came into effect in December 2020.

So far, there are 128 Chinese firms which have been targeted, including 105 on the provisional list and 23 on the conclusive list, according to the SEC website. There are about 200 New York-traded firms with parent companies based in the Chinese mainland or Hong Kong.

The US regulatory body's move, starting earlier this year, has further fueled "homecoming" trend, with Hong Kong stock market becoming a popular landing point.

Chinese property platform KE Holdings said on Thursday that it would also list its shares in Hong Kong without raising new capital. The New York-listed company, which operates online property platform Beike matching buyers and sellers of real estate, will start trading its shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on May 11.

Global Times