NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S.-listed shares of China based Baidu Inc and Tencent Music Entertainment group plunged this week, dropping as much as 33.5% and 48.5%, respectively, from Tuesday’s closing levels.
They initially fell in tandem with a broad sell-off of tech and tech-related shares on Wednesday, when the Nasdaq shed more than 2%. They extended losses on Thursday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted measures to remove foreign from U.S. exchanges if they failed to comply with U.S. accounting standards.
The regulator’s move comes at a time of heightened tensions between the world’s two largest economies.
Talks last week between U.S. and Chinese officials in Alaska culminated in U.S. sanctions being announced against Chinese officials over alleged crimes against humanity and genocide on Uighurs in Xinjiang.
Baidu stock was last down 4.7%, while Tencent had lost 9.6% on the day.
On Friday, traders said Goldman Sachs Group offered a block of 10 million Baidu shares and 50 million Tencent shares, according to a Bloomberg report.
(Reporting by Stephen Culp; Editing by Alden Bentley and Edmund Blair)
