Disenchanted Chinese Tech Companies Plot Escape From NY Listings

Chinese tech firms have fallen out of love with America, and it shows – a growing number of them are looking to drop their listings in New York and head back home.

Many Chinese tech executives are betting on higher share valuations in China where stock markets have recently caught fire. They also hope to evade any legal mess when Beijing formally outlaws foreign shareholder control of firms in protected tech sectors.

An exodus of Chinese tech firms would spell the end of a profitable line of business for Wall Street underwriters. Last year, the $25 billion IPO of e-commerce giant Alibaba – the world’s largest initial public offering ever – generated more than $300 million in fees.

The numbers are hard to resist. China’s tech-driven ChiNext composite index has gained nearly 180 percent this year, eclipsing the 30 percent rise in the Nasdaq OMX China Technology Index that tracks offshore listed mainland firms.

Read Reuters article here.

Interestingly, Silicon Dragon is having its annual NYC tech and VC forum at NASDAQ. This is sure to be a topic of discussion at Silicon Dragon NY 2015: June 22, 5:30pm-9pm.