Chinese regulators have asked several large state-owned clients of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to drop the auditor due to its work for troubled property developer Evergrande, sources said. The Ministry of Finance (MOF) has issued unofficial, verbal instructions to major state-owned financial institutions since April. Bank of China, China Life Insurance, PICC, China Taiping Insurance, and China Cinda Asset Management are among over 30 listed Chinese companies that have dropped PwC as auditor this year, according to Reuters. PwC declined to comment, and the MOF did not respond to a request for comment. The sources said the guidance was a key reason for the client exodus, leading PwC to cut staff and reduce senior partner pay.