HALF a year after being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, China Telecom Corp. has received regulatory approval for a primary share sale in Shanghai that is set to be the world’s biggest so far in 2021. The plan to raise 54.4 billion yuan (US$8.4 billion) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange comes as rising tensions with the United States drive Chinese companies back to their local equity markets. China Mobile Ltd., which the New York Stock Exchange delisted at the same time, is also seeking to sell stock in Shanghai. It is already a bumper year for share sales on the Chinese mainland, with announced primary deals of 281 billion yuan. Tighter rules in China on overseas listings and the government’s push to elevate mainland markets are adding to the momentum. “Chinese companies coming home will be a trend given the current political tensions between the United States and China and tightened regulatory rules,” said Dickie Wong, executive director of research at Kingston Securities (Hong Kong) Ltd. The trend “is likely to be very strong in the short and long term, or even forever,” he said. The China Securities Regulatory Commission didn’t provide details about approving China Telecom’s listing. (SD-Agencies) | 