- For more than a decade, the United States has been unsuccessfully trying to audit the financial statements of large Chinese companies listed in New York.
- After an agreement between Biden and Xi, a new era will begin in September.
- There are more than 200 Chinese firms with a presence in the US indices, from Alibaba and JD.com, to Yum China, owner of KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in the Asian giant.
The dispute between the United States and China over the opaque finances of the Asian giant’s companies listed on Wall Street is beginning to dissipate.
Different unofficial sources quoted by the big financial media in the United States coincide in saying this Wednesday, August 31, that the regulatory bodies of that country will begin to audit large companies.
The first to have been selected are the giants of the e-commerce Alibaba Group Holding and JD.com.
The audit inspection will begin in September and will include other firms as the financial surveys progress.
A few weeks ago, the countries led by Joe Biden and Xi Xinping reached a landmark agreement on audits that allows US regulators to see in detail the finances of listed companies from mainland China and Hong Kong. from New York.
It is the first step in solving a serious problem that was to end with the exit of more than 200 Chinese firms from Wall Street.
Yum China, plus Alibaba and JD.com
In addition to Alibaba and JD.com, it is also known that the audit will continue for Yum China Holdings, a Chinese business group that owns KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut restaurants in the Asian giant.
The companies will be scrutinized by the US auditing watchdog and the Listed Company Accounting Oversight Board, according to Reuters.
The companies that usually audit the numbers of the three companies will also participate, in this case, PwC, Deloitte and KPMG.
When the news broke, Alibaba shares listed on Wall Street were down more than 2.5 percent on Tuesday and continued to slide in the premarket.
change of era
The news is quite a novelty as US regulators They have been seeking access to audits of Chinese companies listed on Wall Street for more than 10 years.
However, until now, the Chinese authorities have always denied the possibility, citing reasons of national security.
Alibaba, which hit Wall Street in 2014 in what was then the biggest IPO in history, is the largest-cap Chinese firm listed in the West, with a market value of $248 billion.
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