A view of PwC office in Beijing Photo: VCG

Multiple listed companies in China have announced they are switching away from global auditing firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

It comes after reports last month that China is mulling a hefty fine for PwC over its role in auditing property firm China Evergrande Group, which filed for bankruptcy last year and was ordered to be liquidated earlier this year.

China Life Insurance Company (China Life) announced on Tuesday it had appointed Ernst & Young (EY) as the company's auditor for the year 2024, switching from PwC which it used in 2023.

The selection and appointment of auditors for the year 2024 was conducted via joint bidding in consideration of China Life's needs for audit services, and the board of directors of the company proposed EY based on the assessment results and the recommendation of the audit committee of the company, said the announcement.

The announcement said the appointment is subject to approval by shareholders of the company at the forthcoming annual general meeting.

China Life's announcement came after a similar decision by PICC Property and Casualty Company (PICC). The company said on May 19 that its board of directors had approved appointing EY as PICC's international auditor for 2024.

Numerous other A Share-listed companies have also severed ties with PwC, according to Chinese media outlet thepaper.cn.

Chinese energy giant PetroChina announced on May 30 that it was considering dropping PwC as the company's 2024 auditor "in view of recent matters in relation to the audit industry which require further verification."

China Merchant Bank announced last September that it had hired PwC as the company's new auditor for 2024, but it then announced on May 27, 2024 that EY will be the company's next auditor.

China's top securities regulator fined Evergrande Group 4.175 billion yuan (575.51 million) for fraudulent bond issuance and information disclosure violations, China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said in a statement on May 31, 2024, and the regulator has been pushing forward the investigation of the relevant intermediary agencies.

Evergrande Group inflated its business revenues and profits in 2019 and 2020 during its issuance of corporate bonds. The CSRC also found that Evergrande released false information in its annual reports and failed to disclose the required information.

Global Times