Chinese Health & Tech Firms Tumble as U.S. Adds them to Investment & Export Blacklist

On Wednesday, shares in Chinese health care and technology firms went down after a report that the United States will add eight Chinese firms, including the largest commercial drone maker and biotech firms, to investment and export blacklists this week.

The Financial Times also reported that one of the eight Chinese companies, is a leading global commercial drone manufacturer DJI Technology Co Ltd, will be added to an investment blacklist on Thursday.

The U.S. commerce department is also set to on Thursday place more than two dozen Chinese companies, including some involved in biotechnology, on an "entity list" restricting exports to them by U.S. firms, the paper cited the sources as saying. The report accelerated a sell-off in Chinese health-care shares in afternoon trade, knocking 3.2% off a mainland index tracking the sector against a 0.87% drop in the broader index.

The impact was sharper still in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng Healthcare Index was down 7.6% in late afternoon trade Health care firms had already been under pressure on Wednesday after Chinese biotech company BeiGene Ltd plunged on its Shanghai debut on Wednesday, amid worries some Chinese companies could be ordered to delist from the U.S. stock market.

The Financial Times reported that the U.S. Treasury Department will put eight companies including DJI on its "Chinese military-industrial complex companies" blacklist on Thursday because of their alleged involvement in surveillance of the Uyghur Muslim minority.