THE U.S. Senate has passed a bill that could block some Chinese companies from selling shares on American stock exchanges. It would require overseas firms to follow U.S. standards for audits and other financial regulations. The measure now has to be passed by the House of Representatives before being signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump. The planned legislation would also require publicly traded companies to reveal whether they are owned or controlled by a foreign government. The bill applies to all foreign companies, but is targeted at China. U.S.-listed Chinese companies have already come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks after Luckin Coffee revealed that an internal investigation found hundreds of millions of dollars of its sales last year were “fabricated.” The scandal-hit firm has said it has been co-operating with regulators in the United States and China, who have begun an investigation into the company. Last week, Luckin said the Nasdaq exchange had notified the company of plans to delist it due to concerns over the alleged fabricated sales and disclosure failures. Its shares will trade on the exchange pending the outcome of an appeal, expected within 45 days.(SD-Agencies) |