China’s largest chipmaker, the Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, announced it will voluntarily delist its American depositary shares from the New York Stock Exchange, according to a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
SMIC cited reasons including the “limited trading volume of the ADRs relative to its worldwide trading volume” and the high administrative cost to maintain the ADR listing status and complying with periodic reporting obligations. The company will focus on its existing Hong Kong listing going forward but there will be trading options for those holding U.S-based ADRs, it said.
SMIC’s last trading day on the NYSE will be around June 13.
The announcement came amid the backdrop of an escalating US-China trade war and a tightening ban on Huawei by the US. But a company spokesperson noted that the delisting of its ADR is not related to the Huawei issue, saying the company has been considering the migration for a long time and the “timing has coincided with the current trade rhetoric, which may lead to misconceptions.”
SMIC is China’s largest integrated circuit producer. It reported revenue of US$3.36 billion and EBITDA of US$1.16 billion in 2018.