[영문] Automaker Brilliance China to Deregister US Shares

The Hong Kong-based company, the first Chinese state-owned company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, said it decided to deregister its American depository shares in view of the low trading volume and rising costs of meeting U.S. reporting and registration requirements.

Brilliance China's Hong Kong-traded shares will not be affected by the change, the company said in a notice to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The automaker's shares fell 4.9 percent to 38.50 Hong Kong cents (15 U.S. cents) Tuesday in Hong Kong. They fell 4.6 percent to $5.01 Monday in New York, compared with an annual high of $20.30.

The company's trading debut in October 1992 was at about $20.

Barring any changes, the company said its shares will cease trading in New York 90 days after it filed its deregistration request Monday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Brilliance China recently said it would hold back on expanding in the ailing U.S. market and focus on growth at home and in Europe.

The company, whose mainland Chinese operations are based in the northeastern city of Shenyang, forecasts that its sales will climb nearly 19 percent to 338,000 in 2009 from 285,000 last year.

Brilliance Auto sells the Zhonghua brand of vehicles and builds, among other lines, the 3 Series and 5 Series for Germany's BMW AG to sell in China.

Brilliance China's share listing in 1992 launched a new era of fund raising by mainland Chinese firms, many of which now have shares traded overseas.

Once its shares are deregistered, there will be no public market in the U.S. for shareholders to sell their holdings, and Brilliance China will be unable to register new shares for sale to the U.S. public.
(AP)

Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.