Luckin Scandal Is Bad Timing for U.S.-Listed Chinese Companies

Say a new company promises to achieve a goal so ambitious it’s eluded a more established competitor for two decades. Say that goal is to sell lots of coffee in China, a nation of resolute and happy tea drinkers, and the competitor it promises to defeat is Starbucks Corp. The way it’s going to do so is by offering lower-priced coffee, primarily for takeout and delivery. Because there will be an app, the startup can call itself a tech company and boast about being a disruptive force. And because investors like apps and disruption, some won’t even notice that the ...