Hong Kong Watch report｜67% of Chinese companies sanctioned by US have shares tradable on HKEX, investors may risk breaching US sanctions
香港監察報告｜67%受美制裁中國企業股票可在港交所交易 投資者恐違美制裁令
Hong Kong Watch published a report last Wednesday (11th) on the risks of investors trading shares in Chinese companies on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. It found that 79 of 117 Chinese companies sanctioned by the US government had shares that could be traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, 19 of which were directly listed on the Main Board. Hong Kong Watch warned that investors purchasing shares on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange could inadvertently gain exposure to Chinese companies involved in human rights abuses and might even breach US government sanctions. Hong Kong Watch published a report titled “Risky Business: how sanctioned entities access capital via Hong Kong”, analysing recent policy changes in Hong Kong and China aimed at encouraging Chinese companies to list in Hong Kong rather than in other “offshore” jurisdictions with stricter due diligence requirements. The report highlighted the risks and due diligence challenges posed to foreign investors by Hong Kong’s national security legislation, and provided investors with guidance on human rights due diligence. The report was written by Thomas Benson, Hong Kong Watch’s senior research and policy adviser. He said the report revealed the ethical and legal risks that Hong Kong’s stock market posed to overseas institutional investors. “It explains why and how Hong Kong’s stock market is strategically important to the Beijing government, and how Chinese companies involved in human rights abuses use Hong Kong to access international capital markets and attract overseas investors.”
香港監察上周三（11日）發布有關投資者在香港交易所買賣中國企業股票的風險報告，發現117間被美國政府制裁的中國企業，有79間的股票可以在港交所交易，當中有19間更是直接在主板上市。香港監察警告，投資者在港交所購買股票時，可能在無意間接觸到涉及侵犯人權的中國企業，甚至可能違反美國政府的制裁禁令。 香港監察（Hong Kong Watch）發布題為《Risky Business: how sanctioned entities access capital via Hong Kong》報告，分析香港和中國近期的政策變動，而這些變動旨在推動中國企業在香港上市，而非在其他有更嚴格盡職審查（due diligence）要求的「離岸」地區上市。報告指出，香港國安法例對外國投資者帶來的風險和盡職審查挑戰，並向投資者提供人權盡職審查的指引。 報告由香港監察資深研究及政策顧問湯柏森（Thomas Benson）撰寫，他表示，報告揭示香港股市對海外機構投資者帶來的道德及法律風險。「當中闡釋了香港股市為何、如何對北京政府具有重要策略意義，以及牽涉侵犯人權行為的中國企業如何利用香港進入國際資本市場並招攬海外投資者」。