BlackRock, State Street to review Hong Kong ETF investment strategy amid US ban

BlackRock Inc. and State Street Corp. said they will reevaluate their strategy for exchange-traded funds on Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index as the U.S. ban on investments into military-linked Chinese companies took effect Jan. 11, Nikkei Asia reported, citing the two companies.

State Street said its tracker fund, the biggest Hong Kong-based ETF, will no longer make new investments in sanctioned securities and perform in line with the Hang Seng Index.

According to the report, nine companies on the U.S. sanction list are listed in Hong Kong, including China Mobile Ltd., China Unicom (Hong Kong) Ltd. and CNOOC Ltd.

The move comes after Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley decided to delist 500 structured products in Hong Kong between Jan. 11 and Jan. 28 following the ban.