Search giant Baidu and video streaming platform iQIYI were among five companies the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) added to an expanding list of mostly Chinese companies which may be delisted from US stock markets.

In a filing, Baidu acknowledged being identified by the SEC under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountability Act (HFCAA) and pledged to work to maintain its listing status on the US Nasdaq and Hong Kong stock exchange.

Baidu stated it is “actively exploring possible solutions”.

IQIYI issued a similar statement.

The companies suggested their additions to the list resulted from the filing of their 2021 annual reports, indicating the SEC determined the companies used an auditor whose “working paper cannot be inspected or investigated completely” by the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

Based on HFCAA, non-US companies can be delisted if they can’t provide the board with accounting access for three consecutive years.

A total of 11 companies are being targeted by the SEC for possible delisting from US markets, ten of which are based in China.

The Federal Communications Commission last week added China Telecom (Americas) and China Mobile International USA to a national security list last week, the latest in a string of crackdowns on Chinese companies operating in the nation.