(Adds Rubio comment)
By Ross Kerber and Alexandra Alper
BOSTON/Washington, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Investors don't expect
the new administration of U.S. President-elect Joe Biden to act
quickly to change new rules that bar new investment in some
Chinese companies, an executive for index provider MSCI Inc
told Reuters on Wednesday.
During a consultation with more than 100 clients on how to
reshape its indexes around the restrictions, MSCI found the
conventional wisdom to be that altering the rules "is not the
highest priority for the Biden administration," Sebastien
Lieblich, the Paris-based head of index research for MSCI, said
in an interview.
MSCI Inc on Tuesday moved to delete the securities of seven
Chinese firms from some of its global indexes after the outgoing
Trump administration banned purchases of their shares in an
executive order in November. The move followed similar steps by
rivals including FTSE Russell and Nasdaq Inc..
The seven were among 35 companies listed by the U.S.
Department of Defense as owned or controlled by the Chinese
military, subjecting them to the new restrictions. China has
condemned the moves, saying the effort runs counter to
principles of market competition.
A spokesperson for Biden's transition team declined to
comment on Lieblich's remarks.
MSCI also had said it would launch versions of some indexes
that retain the barred Chinese company securities. Lieblich said
"a small number" of MSCI clients had asked for them but declined
to be more specific.
Lieblich said MSCI decided not to delete subsidiaries or
affiliates of some of the restricted Chinese companies, but
could take further action if Washington gives more details about
specific listings it wants barred.
"Whether the spirit of the order was to have everything
excluded, that's an open question," Lieblich said.
MSCI's decision on subsidiaries and affiliates drew fire
from U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, who proposed legislation in
October that would harden Trump's executive order.
"MSCI’s stated decision not to remove these firms'
subsidiaries and affiliates underscores the need for Congress to
take further action," he said in a statement.
"If any future Administration were to reverse course, it
would be a clear signal that they are putting the interests of
the Chinese Communist Party and Wall Street above the interests
of American workers and mom and pop investors."
(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston and Alexandra Alper in
Washington;
Editing by Sonya Hepinstall)