Alun John and Donny Kwak

HONG KONG (Reuters] – On Friday, the Hong Kong stock exchange stopped trading in shares of Chinese developers Sunac China Shimao Group, Kaisa Group, Kaisa Group, Kaisa Group and around 30 others due to a delay with declaring their annual results.

Hong Kong listed companies typically have three months from the end of the financial calendar to release results. But, in 2020, the regulators allowed trade to continue, even though audits affected by pandemic curbs had issued preliminary results and were not subject to agreement with auditors.

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the operator of the exchange, stated that it was “committed to maintaining a faire, orderly, and continuous market”.

The company would keep an eye on developments in order to make suspensions as brief as possible.

Of the 32 firms suspended for missing the March 31 deadline, 14 had audits affected by pandemic curbs, the exchange said. This is compared to 57 firms that were suspended for missing the March 31 deadline last year. Two of those cases related to COVID-19.

Shimao Group announced late on Thursday that its shares will be suspended starting Friday due to inability to release unaudited results for 2021 at the appropriate time.

Shimao stated that due to pandemic, an office building in Shanghai was locked down and some employees quarantined. However, it is not known when the curbs can be lifted.

Sunac China said Monday that trading in shares of its stock would stop because it had missed the HKEX deadline.

China Evergrande New Energy Vehicle Group Ltd flagged on Tuesday that it was being suspended for the same reasons.

According to the company, they would collaborate with their auditors to publish results within about three months. They also hoped to restart trading as soon and as quickly as possible.

Aoyuan Healthy Life Group and Fantasia Holdings were also affected by the delay. Kaisa Group was not among them.

In Shanghai, more Chinese companies are halting domestic listing plans, as the coronvirus outbreak hampers due diligence and information-gathering.