Cosco Shipping drops PwC as offshore auditor

Cosco Shipping (1199) has become another Chinese state-owned enterprise to have PricewaterhouseCoopers resign as its offshore auditor, with Shinewing Hong Kong appointed for the 2024 financial year.

PwC was appointed in May, according to the company's filing.

Cosco Shipping said this transition will not impact the annual audit and has expressed gratitude to PwC for its past services.

This move is seen as a strategic decision based on current business needs and market information.

A Reuters calculation based on filings showed more than 50 Chinese firms have in recent months either dropped the firm as their auditor or canceled plans to hire it as of September, following the launch of the regulatory investigation into the firm.

Earlier, Chinese regulators hit PwC's mainland China unit with a six-month suspension and a record fine of 441 million yuan (HK$482.55 million) over the firm's audit of failed property developer China Evergrande (3333).

In other news, Central China Securities (1375) was told by Chinese regulators to suspend its bond underwriting business for six months from last Thursday. The company was found to help bond issuers sign bond consulting agreements with investors for non-market debt and failed to sufficiently verify the issuer's solvency.

bloomberg and staff reporter