FTSE Russell To Drop 8 Chinese Companies From Some Indices, In Response To US Blacklist

FTSE Russell will remove eight Chinese companies from some if its indexes, Financial Times has reported.

What Happened: The U.K.-based index provider plans to remove the companies on Dec. 21 from its FTSE global equity indices and the FTSE China A Inclusion index.

This is in response to a U.S. order that bans Americans from buying shares of companies on a blacklist of companies the White House says are connected to the Chinese military.

The eight companies include China Railway Construction ADR CWYCY, China Spacesat and Hangzhou Hikvision, a maker of surveillance equipment.

Increased Pressure: This comes as U.S. politicians on both sides of the political divide are pushing for tougher actions against Chinese listed firms.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would kick foreign companies off U.S. exchanges if they do not adhere to the same disclosure rules American companies must follow. The bill has wide bipartisan support and was passed earlier by the U.S. Senate. It heads next to the desk of U.S. President Donald Trump for signing.

Companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd - ADR BABA would be affected.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay