U.S. House committee flags MSCI, BlackRock for China investments
U.S. investments in about 50 blacklisted Chinese companies is under scrutiny from the House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
Fransebas
A bank employee count China’s renminbi (RMB) or yuan notes next to U.S. dollar notes at a Kasikornbank in Bangkok, Thailand, January 26, 2023.
Athit Perawongmetha | Reuters
BEIJING — U.S. investments in around 50 blacklisted Chinese companies have drawn the attention of the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
The committee on Tuesday announced it sent separate letters to MSCI and BlackRock asking for more information about the firms' facilitation of U.S. investments into those Chinese companies.
The Chinese companies were blacklisted over claims of supporting China's military or alleged human rights abuses, the committee said. It noted the initial review did not include one of the largest blacklists, the U.S. Department of Commerce's Entity List.
"The true scale is likely much larger," the letters said.
MSCI said in a statement it is reviewing the request for information, and that it doesn't "facilitate" investments in any country. "MSCI indexes measure the performance of equity markets available to international investors, and comply with all applicable US laws," the indexing giant said.
BlackRock did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment.
Here's the full list of names, which are primarily state-owned companies:
Combined list of Chinese companies flagged by U.S. House committee
| AECC Aero-Engine Control Company Limited |
| AECC Aviation Power Co., Ltd. |
| Aerospace Ch Auv Company Limited |
| AVIC Aviation High-Technology Company Limited |
| AVIC Electromechanical Systems Company Limited |
| AVIC Heavy Machinery Company Limited |
| AVIC Helicopter Company Limited |
| AVIC Industry-Finance Holdings Company Limited (a.k.a. AVIC Capital Company Limited) |
| AVIC Jonhon-Optronic Technology Co., Ltd. |
| AVIC Shenyang Aircraft Company Limited |
| AVIC Xi'an Aircraft Industry Group Company Limited |
| Avicopter PLC |
| BGI Genomics Co., Ltd. |
| CETC Cyberspace Security Technology Co., Ltd. |
| CGN New Energy Holdings Co., Ltd. |
| CGN Power Co., Ltd. |
| Changsha Jingjia Microelectronics Co., Ltd. |
| China CSSC Holdings Ltd. |
| China Mobile Communications Group Company Limited |
| China National Chemical Corporation Ltd. (ChemChina) |
| China National Chemical Engineering Group Corporation Limited |
| China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) |
| China National Nuclear Corporation Hua Yuan Titanium Dioxide Company Limited |
| China National Nuclear Power Company Limited |
| China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) |
| China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) |
| China Spacesat Company Limited |
| China State Construction Engineering Corporation Limited |
| China State Construction Group Company Limited |
| China State Construction International Investment Group Company Limited |
| China Telecommunications Corporation Group |
| China United Network Communications Group Company Limited |
| CNOOC Energy & Technology Services Limited |
| Costar Group Company Limited ? CRRC Corporation Ltd. |
| CRRC Corporation Ltd. |
| CSSC Offshore & Marine Engineering (Group) Company Limited |
| Dawning Information Industry Company Limited |
| Fujian Torch Electron Technology Company Limited |
| Hoshine Silicon Industry Company Limited |
| Inspur Electronic Information Industry Company Limited |
| Jiangxi Hongdu Aviation Industry (Group) Corporation Limited |
| North Industries Group Red Arrow Company Limited |
| Offshore Oil Engineering Company Limited |
| Qihoo 360 |
| Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) |
| Xinjiang Daqo New Energy Co., Ltd. |
| Zhejiang Dahua Technology Company Limited |
| Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Company Limited |
| ZTE Corporation |
Source: https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/media/press-releases/unconscionable-profit-fueling-chinas-military-select-committee-launches
The U.S. House committee estimated that five BlackRock funds have invested more than $429 million into the blacklisted names. Those companies also accounted for nearly 5% of the MSCI China A Index's value as of March 1, the committee said.
U.S.-China tensions
The request for information comes as the U.S. has increased its scrutiny of financial ties with China.
Last week, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly backed legislation that would require U.S. firms to notify the Treasury when investing in advanced Chinese technology on national security concerns. An earlier version of the legislation had called for investment restrictions.
President Joe Biden has long been expected to issue an executive order that would restrict U.S. investment in high-end Chinese tech. No action has yet been announced.
Last month, the House committee said it sent letters to four U.S. venture capital firms over their investments into Chinese artificial intelligence, semiconductor and quantum computing companies.
The committee cited allegations that China was using such technologies for military development or perpetuation of human rights abuses.
Beijing has denied such abuses, and published claims of "human rights violations in the United States."
