Yum China Provides Update on Status under Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act
Yum China Holdings, Inc. (YUMC) announced an update regarding its listing under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. On March 8, 2022, Yum China was identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer following its annual report filing. The SEC's identification places Yum China at risk of being delisted from the NYSE by early 2024 unless the PCAOB can inspect its auditor or the Act is amended. The company continues to evaluate strategic options as it monitors market developments.
- None.
- Yum China identified as a Commission-Identified Issuer under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act.
- Risk of delisting from NYSE by early 2024 if auditor isn't inspected by PCAOB.
- Potential negative impact on trading due to regulatory scrutiny.
SHANGHAI, March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ – Yum China Holdings, Inc. (the "Company" or "Yum China") (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987) today provided an update on its status under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act (the "Act").
On March 8, 2022, as expected in its implementation of the Act, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") provisionally named the Company as a Commission-Identified Issuer, following the Company's filing of its annual report on Form 10-K with the SEC on February 28, 2022. The SEC estimated that 273 registrants might be identified under the Act as part of its review of registrants in calendar year 2020, and Yum China previously disclosed that it expected to be so identified.
The identification is pursuant to the Act, which requires the SEC to prohibit the securities of any "covered issuer," including the Company, from being traded on any of the U.S. securities exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, if the auditor of the covered issuer's financial statements is not subject to inspection by the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board ("PCAOB") for three consecutive years, beginning in 2021. Under the current terms of the Act, the Company's common stock will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange in early 2024, unless the Act is amended to exclude the Company or the PCAOB is able to conduct a full inspection of the Company's auditor during the required timeframe.
The Company's common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange and, on September 10, 2020, the Company completed a secondary listing of its common stock on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "9987". The shares listed on the HKEX are fully fungible with the shares listed on the NYSE.
The Company will continue to monitor market developments and evaluate all strategic options.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding the Company's response to the Act and the potential delisting of our stock from the NYSE. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: whether we are able to achieve development goals at the times and in the amounts currently anticipated, if at all, the success of our marketing campaigns and product innovation, our ability to maintain food safety and quality control systems, changes in public health conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic and regional outbreaks caused by existing or new COVID-19 variants, our ability to control costs and expenses, including tax costs, as well as changes in political, economic and regulatory conditions in China. In addition, other risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently believe to be immaterial could affect the accuracy of any such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the SEC (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.
About Yum China Holdings, Inc.
Yum China Holdings, Inc. is a licensee of Yum! Brands in mainland China. It has exclusive rights in mainland China to KFC, China's leading quick-service restaurant brand, Pizza Hut, the leading casual dining restaurant brand in China, and Taco Bell, a California-based restaurant chain serving innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China also owns the Little Sheep, Huang Ji Huang, East Dawning and COFFii & JOY concepts outright. In addition, Yum China has partnered with Lavazza to explore and develop the Lavazza coffee shop concept in China. The Company had 11,788 restaurants in over 1,600 cities at the end of December 2021.
In 2021, Yum China ranked # 363 on the Fortune 500 list and was named to TIME100 Most Influential Companies list. Yum China has also been selected as member of both Dow Jones Sustainability Indices (DJSI): World Index and Emerging Market Index. In 2022, the Company was named to the Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index and was certified as a Top Employer 2022 in China by the Top Employers Institute, both for the fourth consecutive year. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.
Investor Relations Contact:
Tel: +86 21 2407 7556 / +852 2267 5801
IR@YumChina.com
Media Contact:
Tel: +86 21 2407 7510
Media@YumChina.com
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SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.
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