The Nasdaq Stock Exchange formally moved to delist Pingtan Marine Enterprise on 21 December, 2022.

The Fuzhou, Fujian, China-based distant-water fishing firm was hit with sanctions issued by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on 9 December, 2022, and Nasdaq temporarily froze trading in the company’s stock the same day, but allowed it to resume trading on 19 December.

In a press release, Pingtan acknowledged Nasdaq’s Listing Qualifications Department “has determined that the continued listing of the company's securities are no longer warranted pursuant to Listing Rule 5101.” The rule allows the market to deny listing to a company employing an individual in a director role with a history of regulatory misconduct; Pingtan Marine Founder, Chairman, and CEO Xinrong Zhuo was included in the U.S. sanctions.

The delisting was scheduled to take place 30 December, but in its 27 December release, Pingtan announced its intention to appeal the move. [...]