(Yicai) July 23 -- Shenzhen Universe Group, a manufacturer of concrete, will become China’s first A-share company to be delisted due to a low market capitalization.

Universe [SHE: 000023] dropped by the exchange-imposed daily limit to CNY1.81 (US 25 cents) today with a market cap of CNY251 million (USD34.5 million).

The rules say that if a company's valuation remains below CNY300 million for 20 straight trading days, it will be forced to leave the stock market. That has been the case for Universe for 19 days and even if the shares jumped by the daily limit tomorrow, the market cap would still remain below the threshold.

Universe's business has shrunk in recent years amid the property market downturn. Its revenue fell to CNY178 million last year, down from CNY1.8 billion (USD247.5 million) in 2020. In the first half, it predicts a net loss of CNY80 million to CNY100 million (USD11 million to USD13.7 million).

Before this, one B-share company met the same delisting criterium when Jianshe Vehicle System [SHE: 200054] remained below the CNY300 million mark for 20 days on June 18. B-shares are equities listed on the mainland but traded in US dollars or Hong Kong dollars.

Chinese bourses have other companies at risk. Gome Telecom Equipment [SHA: 600898] and Putian Telecommunications [SHE: 200468] announced on July 9 and July 17, respectively, that they were in the risk zone.

Editor: Emmi Laine