Universal Travel Group, which aims to be the dominant online travel company in China, is voluntarily delisting its stock from the New York Stock Exchange under fire.
The Shenzhen, China-based provider of air, hotel and packaged tours through call centers and websites, says it is voluntarily delisting its stock because the NYSE says the company faces delisting and Universal Travel Group says it can't respond to the exchange's concerns in the required timeframe.
The crisis takes place after the company's then-auditor, Windes & McGlaughry resigned a year ago, saying it doubted Universal Travel Group's commitment to adequate corporate governance and financial reporting, and cited its alleged unwillingness and non-responsiveness in cooperating with the audit process.
The travel company says the expressed concerns are inaccurate or already addressed.
Trading was halted in Universal Travel Group's stock, under the symbol UTA, on April 12, 2012.
Universal Travel Group focuses on China's domestic travel market and says it "dominate(s) packaged tour businesses."
The company's strategy is to expand by establishing additional franchises and call centers in China, and "plan(s) to integrate our offline businesses with our online platform."