Belle Qi Guo argues one fundamental explanation for these difficulties is the divergent theoretical underpinnings of the continuous disclosure regimes in China and Australia.

Encouragement to Chinese based/operating companies to list on overseas markets has been spurred in recent years by the development of China’s “Belt and Road Initiative”. However, Chinese companies have experienced comparatively high levels of delisting from, and rejection of listing on, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), explains Guo. This delisting/rejection has generally related to concerns about the Chinese companies’ compliance with Australia’s continuous disclosure rules (in Ch 6CA of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) and in the ASX Listing Rules), which require a company to immediately disclose important new information about issues relevant to its situation or operations as soon as it is available to the company.  

Guo’s article surveys the history of the development of the continuous disclosure regimes in Australia and China. She sees parallels in the developments in both countries, but also fundamental differences in the rationale for the emergence of their regimes. In Australia’s case, it was essentially about shoring up the capitalist economy after periods of corporate collapses in the 1890s, 1960s, and 1980s.

In China, the gradual emergence of its continuous disclosure regime has occurred against the general background of China’s striving to assert a meaningful place for itself in the prevailing global economy at least since the 1840s after the Opium War. Very recently, Guo explains, there has been growing awareness in China of the necessity for ensuring investor protection and market integrity, reflecting the maturing of its socialist market economy and as evidenced in more systematic continuous disclosure provisions in the Securities Law of the People’s Republic of China (2019 Revision).

China continues to explore better system design for its continuous disclosure regime, and Australia’s own regime is advanced, argues Guo. There are opportunities here for both countries, as implicit in Guo’s suggestion of better “regulatory co-operation between Australia and China regarding cross-border listed companies’ continuous disclosure” being one answer to Chinese companies struggles with continuous disclosure compliance in Australia.