U.S. House committee flags MSCI, BlackRock for China investments

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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. 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: