Washington, Feb 15 (IANS): US President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed a bill to repeal a regulation requiring energy companies to disclose payments to the US or foreign governments for commercial development.

"This is a big signing.Very important signing," Xinhua news agency quoted Trump as saying at the signing ceremony accompanied by two leading Republican figures, House Speaker Paul Ryan and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling.

The regulation was made by Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law, mandating energy companies listed in the US stock market to report on royalties and other payments to governments related to oil, natural gas, coal and other mineral development.

Republicans and US energy companies have long argued that the rule put US companies at a disadvantage compared with foreign competitors. Rex Tillerson, current Secretary of States, was one of the leading opponents when he was the CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp.

Some Democratic lawmakers criticised that repealing the rule will make millions of dollars of US citizens and investors "vanished into the pockets of corrupt foreign oligarchs".