(Adds details from FTSE Russell)
By Ross Kerber and Alexandra Alper
BOSTON/WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Index provider FTSE
Russell said on Friday it will delete shares of Hikvision and
seven other Chinese companies from certain products after a U.S.
order restricting the purchase of shares in those firms.
In a statement sent by a spokesman for owner London Stock
Exchange Group, FTSE Russell said it will remove shares
in companies including Hangzhou Hikvision, China
Railway Construction Corp, and China Spacesat.
FTSE Russell said it acted following feedback from index
subscribers and other stakeholders, and that it was following
its policy when sanctions are imposed that restrict investments.
The move shows how a recent bid by the White House to give
teeth to a blacklist of Chinese companies allegedly backed by
the Chinese military could crimp U.S. investments in the
country, often held in passive products built on broad indexes.
In its statement issued after U.S. markets closed on Friday,
FTSE Russell said the deletions would occur from its FTSE Global
Equity Index Series and several others effective Dec. 21.
A spokesman said its treatment of the companies remains
under review in other indexes including in its FTSE China and
China A products, considered China domestic indexes.
Rival index provider MSCI Inc had previously said
its products would "reflect any necessary changes" depending on
U.S. law. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to questions
on Friday.
FTSE Russell had previously said it was reviewing
securities, and said it could drop more companies based on
findings by U.S. officials.
All eight companies to be dropped by FTSE Russell are on a
list of "Communist Chinese Military Companies" compiled by the
Pentagon.
The White House last month published an executive order,
first reported by Reuters, barring U.S. investors from buying
securities of the blacklisted firms starting in November 2021.
Earlier this week the Pentagon added four additional
companies to its list of barred firms including China's top
chipmaker SMIC and oil giant CNOOC.
The FTSE Russell spokesman, Tim Benedict, said it
was aware of those additions and said "we will evaluate those in
due course."
(Reporting by Ross Kerber in Boston and by Alexandra Alper in
Washington; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
