EQUITABLE Act

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The Ensuring Quality Information and Transparency for Abroad-Based Listings on our Exchanges Act (EQUITABLE Act) was a proposed bill to amend the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to require the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to de-list foreign companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges that do not comply with oversight and audit rules. [1] Under the bipartisan bill, foreign companies traded on U.S. stock exchanges that refused to allow the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board to inspect their financial records would face de-listing. [2] [3] [4] The bill was introduced in 2019 by Marco Rubio and co-sponsored by Bob Menendez, Tom Cotton, and Kirsten Gillibrand. The bill was a response to the lack of financial transparency of Chinese companies listed on U.S. stock exchanges, often resulting from reverse mergers, and defrauding of investors. [5] [6] [7]

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References

  1. Chen, Wang (December 4, 2019). "EQUITABLE Act: Background and Potential Application". Columbia Business Law Review . Archived from the original on December 22, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  2. Robertson, Benjamin (June 6, 2019). "Latest U.S. Salvo Against Chinese Firms Could Benefit Hong Kong" . Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on July 2, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  3. Kynge, James (September 5, 2019). "Trade war sucks in US-listed Chinese stocks" . The Nikkei . Archived from the original on September 24, 2019. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  4. "Public Companies that are Audit Clients of PCAOB-Registered Firms from Non-U.S. Jurisdictions where the PCAOB is Denied Access to Conduct Inspections". Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  5. Poletti, Therese (June 26, 2019). "D.C. is finally paying attention to scary Chinese stocks, but Wall Street may pay the consequences". MarketWatch . Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  6. Leonard, Jenny; Donnan, Shawn (September 27, 2019). "White House Weighs Limits on U.S. Portfolio Flows Into China" . Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on September 27, 2019. Retrieved September 27, 2019.
  7. Stevenson, Alexandra; Wong, Edward (April 30, 2020). "Chinese Coffee Chain's Scandal Renews U.S. Calls for Oversight" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on May 1, 2020. Retrieved May 1, 2020.