BYD Chip Unit IPO Stalled as China Regulator Probes Adviser
BYD Chip Unit IPO Stalled as China Regulator Probes Adviser
(Bloomberg) -- The Shenzhen Stock Exchange said it’s suspended reviewing a share-sale application by BYD Co.’s chip unit following a regulatory probe of an adviser to the proposed initial public offering.
Beijing-based Tian Yuan Law Firm is being investigated by China Securities Regulatory Commission, according to an update dated Aug. 18 on the bourse’s website. The board of the Shenzhen-based electric-vehicle maker approved the spin-off of BYD Semiconductor Co. in May, while the exchange accepted the IPO application for review in June.
Calls to the law firm seeking comment went unanswered outside working hours on Sunday. BYD Semiconductor didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
While it isn’t immediately clear if the move is linked to the Chinese government’s broader crackdown on businesses in the mainland, it comes as a setback to BYD, whose shares have rallied recently on the decision to separate the chip division.
Technology giants from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. to Didi Global Inc. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. have become the target of Beijing as the ruling Chinese Communist Party reins in businesses and individuals it perceives as a threat.
Separately, Ming Yang Smart Energy Group said in a statement Sunday that the CSRC has halted its private share sale plan pending an investigation into its law firm, whose name was undisclosed.
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