Hutchmed China confident after being added to SEC list

Hutchmed China updated the market on its status under the United States ‘Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act’ on Thursday.

The AIM-traded firm said that, following its implementation of rules under the act, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added Hutchmed to its list of issuers identified under the act.

It was provisionally named as an SEC-identified Issuer on 8 March, following the filing of its annual report on 3 March.

The SEC estimated that 273 registrants might be identified under the act as part of its review of registrants in 2020.

“We anticipate that other similarly-situated US-listed companies with operations in Hong Kong and other parts of China will be added once they file their annual reports with the SEC,” the board said in its statement.

“As the company continues to monitor market developments and evaluate all strategic options, with the appropriate counsel and guidance, it would like to note that this update has no impact on business operations.”

Hutchmed said it understood that the motivation behind the act was to ensure appropriate transparency and disclosure, so that investors would be able to make informed investment decisions.

“This we fully support and have been committed to ever since our initial listing in London in 2006.

“As always, we will continue complying with relevant laws and regulations in all the jurisdictions we are listed.

“Furthermore, we are working to maintain communication with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) to understand if there are further updates on their discussions with the US authorities regarding how China-based companies may be able to meet the requirements of the act.”

Hutchmed said it would continue to evaluate its options to remain listed in the US, including assessing the merits of appointing an auditor outside of China if and when the contribution of its international business to the group exceeded its China business.

At 1235 BST, shares in Hutchmed China were down 3.49% in London, at 290.5p.