CNOOC Voluntarily Delisting from TSX

CNOOC Limited has announced that it has applied for a voluntary delisting of its American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) from the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) in Canada. 

Subject to such application being accepted by the TSX, it is expected that the ADRs will be delisted from the TSX effective as of the close of trading on December 31, CNOOC noted in a statement posted on its website. The company’s ordinary shares will continue to be listed and trade on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the delisting from the TSX is not expected to have any negative impact on the company’s ongoing operations, CNOOC outlined.

“The company has decided to pursue the voluntary delisting of the ADRs from the TSX following the delisting of the ADRs from the NYSE, effective at the close of trading on October 22,” CNOOC said in a company statement.

“Security holder approval for the delisting of the ADRs will not be sought because the Liquidity Event meets the requirements of Section 720(b) of the TSX Company Manual, and for which all material conditions have been satisfied and the likelihood of non-completion is remote,” CNOOC added in the statement.

“In arriving at the determination to delist from the TSX, the company considered, among other things, the delisting of the ADRs from the NYSE and the effects thereof on the TSX listing, the minimal trading volumes on the TSX, the burdens associated with the listing on the TSX and the availability of an alternative market for the underlying ordinary shares in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange,” CNOOC went on to say.

At the end of November, CNOOC announced that it intended to deregister with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and terminate reporting obligations under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In the announcement, the company noted that the New York Stock Exchange LLC filed Form 25 with the SEC on October 12 and that the delisting of its American depository shares became effective following the close of the market in New York on October 22.

As such, CNOOC outlined in a statement at the time that it would file Form 15F with the SEC on November 30 to deregister all classes of its registered securities, including its equity securities and all classes of debt securities issued by its wholly owned subsidiaries, and terminate its reporting obligations under Section 13(a) and 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

CNOOC Limited was incorporated in the Hong Kong Special Administration Region in August 1999 and was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited on February 27 and February 28, 2001, respectively. The company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange on September 18, 2013.

CNOOC describes itself as the largest producer of offshore crude oil and natural gas in China and one of the largest independent oil and gas exploration and production companies in the world. As of December 31, 2020, the company owned net proved reserves of approximately 5.37 billion barrels of oil equivalent and its average daily net production was 1.44 million barrels of oil equivalent, according to its website.

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