BEIJING, April 13 (TMTPOST) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has added another 12 publicly listed Chinese companies, including Internet company Sohu, into a provisional delisting list.

This is the fifth batch of Chinese companies to be added to the list since March.

The Chinese companies that have been added to the list include Microvast, China Automobile System, Daqo New Energy, Studio City International, Melco Resorts & Entertainment, OneConnect Financial Technology, Green Vision Biotechnology, Legend Biotech Corporation, Logiq, Noah Holdings and Sohu.

The 12 Chinese companies can file for defense against the provisional delisting list before May 3, according to the announcement from the SEC.

On March 8, the SEC announced that five Chinese companies were added to the provisional delisting list. The five companies could file for defense against the provisional list before April 13. However, the five companies have eventually been added to the confirmed delisting list.

The Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, launched in 2020, require companies that are on the confirmed delisting list to submit files requested by the SEC within three years. If companies are unable to provide relevant documents and files, they will be delisted from the American stock market in early 2024.

Sohu announced on Wednesday that the company is considering delisting from the United States stock market and that it does not intend to argue against the SEC’s decision. The company said that it is uncertain whether delisting or other alternative solutions to the problem will impact the market value of its ADS or not.

Sohu is still considering other options and has not yet come to a final decision.

Sohu, Inc. is a Chinese Internet company headquartered in the Sohu Internet Plaza in Haidian District, Beijing. Sohu and its subsidiaries offer advertising, a search engine, on-line multiplayer gaming and other services.