Nasdaq will cull four Chinese companies following White House restrictions

Four Chinese construction and manufacturing companies will be removed from the NASDAQ stock Market, the Nasdaq said on Thursday, in response to an order by the Trump administration to restrict purchases of their shares.

The companies include China Communications Construction Corp, China Railway Construction Corp, CRRC Corp and SMIC international Corp, Nasdaq said in a statement. The companies’ untraded securities on the Nasdaq stock Exchange will be removed from the indexes on Dec. 21. The White House issued an executive order last month banning U.S. investors from buying securities from blacklisted companies starting in November 2021. The Trump administration says the companies have links to the Chinese military.

A spokesman for index provider MSCI Inc said in an email on Friday that the company had spoken to clients about possible changes and would soon communicate “any necessary changes.” The move came after FTSE Russell said yesterday it was deleting shares in eight Chinese companies in light of the White House’s decision.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Monday it would remove 10 companies including Hangzhou Hikvision Digital, Hong Kong-listed H shares and American depositary receipts from all of its stock Indices ahead of its initial public offering on June 21.

Analysts say the index providers’ steps show the real impact of U.S. investments. American investors often put their Chinese stocks in passive products based on broad indices. The four Chinese companies removed from nasdaq are the only ones on the White House’s list to appear on the Nasdaq, a spokesman said. Nasdaq leaders had no immediate further comment.