(Bloomberg) -- More than 40 Hong Kong stocks worth a combined HK$140.9 billion ($18.1 billion) remain suspended from trading after failing to release their 2020 earnings, the highest number of such halts in at least five years.
The group is part of 51 companies that missed an initial reporting deadline for preliminary results by the end of March and were forced to suspend trading on April 1. Ten companies have since reported earnings and have resumed trading, including Hainan Meilan International Airport Co., an airport operator in the southern province of Hainan.
The remaining group have now missed the April 30 deadline for releasing final results. Among the largest halted companies by market value include solar power maker GCL-Poly Energy Holdings Ltd., embattled state-owned debt-clearing agency China Huarong Asset Management Co. and cement-maker Asia Cement China Holdings Corp. All three are Hang Seng Composite Index members.
Many of the firms previously blamed delays on auditors' failures to sign off on their results, although Huarong - which had fueled investor concerns over its liquidity - said on April 25 that its auditors needed more time to finalize an unspecified transaction before it could publish results. The company is actively working with auditors to release 2020 results as soon as possible, a senior official told state-run Shanghai Securities News on Friday.
Six of the 10 stocks that have resumed trading after being halted in April have fallen. Mobile technology firm China Baoli Technologies Holdings Ltd. has fallen 54% while furniture material maker Hong Wei Asia Holdings Co. is down 40%.
©2021 Bloomberg L.P.
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
