China Unicom (Hong Kong) Limited (the “Company”) was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (stock code: CHU) and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (stock code: 762) on 21 June 2000 and 22 June 2000 respectively.
The former US President issued an executive order 13959 (the “Executive Order”) on 12 November 2020, and subsequently the US Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued the guidance. The Executive Order and the guidance prohibit any transaction by any US person in publicly traded securities (including, among others, derivatives thereof) of certain Chinese companies, including the Company. The New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) staff determined that, based on the Executive Order and the guidance, it commenced the process to delist the Company’s American Depositary Shares (the “ADSs”) and suspended trading in the Company’s ADSs from 11 January 2021. In order to protect the interests of the Company and its shareholders, on 20 January 2021, the Company filed with the NYSE a written request for a review of the Determination by a Committee of the Board of Directors of the NYSE. On 6 May 2021, the Committee affirmed the determination to delist the Company’s ADSs. On 7 May 2021, NYSE filed a Form 25 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to strike the Company’s ADSs from listing and registration. The delisting of the Company’s ADSs was effective 18 May 2021.
In light of the delisting, the Company resolved to terminate the ADSs program and gave a notice to The Bank of New York Mellon, as the depository for the Company's ADSs, for the termination of the ADS Program.
As at 20 July 2021, the amount of the Company’s ADSs in issue was approximately 4.2 million, which represented approximately 0.1% of the Company’s total issued shares. The Bank of New York Mellon had given a notice to all holders of ADSs that the ADS Program would terminate on 18 October 2021 (U.S. Eastern Time). Holders of ADSs would have the right, at least until the Termination Date, to return the ADSs to The Bank of New York Mellon in exchange for ordinary shares of the Company with each ADS returned to be exchanged into 10 ordinary shares of the Company in accordance with the terms and conditions of the deposit agreement. The Company’s ordinary shares are traded on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited. The Bank of New York Mellon had commenced the sale of ordinary shares of the Company represented by the remaining ADSs after the Termination Date, and would pay the net cash proceeds, after deducting applicable fees and expenses, to the holders of such remaining ADSs.
The contact details of the Bank of New York Mellon are as follows:
| Address: | Shareholder Services, P.O. Box 505000, Louisville, KY 40233–5000 |
| Tel: | 1-888-269-2377 (toll free in USA) 1-201-680-6825 (international) |
| Email: | drsettlements@bnymellon.com |
