In this file photo, Ashley Alder, chief executive officer of Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission, speaks during the Hong Kong Asian Financial Forum (AFF) in Hong Kong, China on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. (ANTHONY KWAN / BLOOMBERG)
HONG KONG – Chief Executive Officer of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) Ashley Alder said on Monday that the investment ban imposed on several Chinese firms by the United States had little impact on the Hong Kong market.
At the end of last year, the United States issued an executive order imposing sanctions on Chinese companies that it believed had ties with the Chinese military, and prohibiting US investors from investing in these companies. The executive order came into effect on Jan 11 this year.
At the end of last year, the United States issued an executive order imposing sanctions on Chinese companies that it believed had ties with the Chinese military, and prohibiting US investors from investing in these companies. The executive order came into effect on Jan 11 this year
Alder said that there have been different understandings towards the investment ban in the Hong Kong market and some sanctions have been postponed by the US. Therefore, the impact on Hong Kong market was slight and controllable.
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Alder said that the SFC has been in close communication with various financial institutions, including US banks operating in Hong Kong since the introduction of the ban to study how they could enforce the ban. The SFC also provided financial institutions with guidelines, hoping to reduce negative impact.
One of the examples is that Tracker Fund of Hong Kong, Hong Kong's largest and most active funds, recently changed its mind and withdrawn its decision to ban investment in sanctioned Chinese stocks.
The SFC said that the amount and proportion of US investors' shares in Tracker Fund were very small and would not have a destructive impact on the operation of the fund and the interests of investors.
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Also on Monday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said the pursuit of a "new Cold War" and ideological confrontation are against the trend of the times and unpopular.
Spokesperson Wang Wenbin made the remarks during a press briefing in response to a question on an anonymous report instigating a new Cold War against China recently released by the Atlantic Council.
"The so-called report, published anonymously, fully exposed the darkness and cowardice of some people," Wang said, adding that clamoring for regime change in China or attempting to contain China is wishful thinking.
Both the anonymous report of the Atlantic Council and slanderous attacks on the Chinese Communist Party by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his ilk are "sets of lies" and "conspiracy theories," the spokesperson noted.
"Rumors and slanders will not stop China from moving forward and any attempt to interfere in China's internal affairs and change its political system will definitely be bashed by Chinese people," Wang said.
He added that all the forces that create hostility between the Chinese and American people or try to push China-US relations to one of conflicts and confrontations are doomed to fail and history will remember such forces as sinners.