U.S. government considering banning investments in Alibaba, Tencent by Americans: report

The U.S. government is contemplating a plan that would restrict Americans from buying shares of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
BABA,
-5.32%
and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
TCEHY,
-3.97%,
according to The Wall Street Journal. The government has been increasingly cracking down on investments in companies that it claims to have ties with the Chinese military. The WSJ report, which cites multiple anonymous sources, said that the U.S. government has been debating whether restrictions on investments in Alibaba and Tencent would have a far-ranging impact on the markets, and it remains uncertain whether the government will go through with such prohibitions. Late Tuesday, the New York Stock Exchange again flipped its stance on whether it will delist three Chinese telecommunications companies-China Telecom Corp. Ltd.
CHA,
+1.36%,
China Mobile Ltd.
CHL,
-5.45%,
and China Unicom
CHU,

– from its exchanges as it seeks to comply with an executive order from President Trump that aims to bar U.S. investors from buying shares of companies with alleged ties to China’s military. The New York Stock Exchange said last week that it would delist the names, before reversing course earlier this week and then later saying it would revert to its original plans to delist the stocks. Alibaba’s U.S.-listed shares are off about 5% in Wednesday afternoon trading, while Tencent’s are off more than 3%.