Sanctions Related to Certain Chinese Securities

Overview:

The U.S. announced additional sanctions related to certain Chinese securities scheduled to go into effect on February 1, March 9, and March 15, 2021. These are an extension of the sanctions regarding other Chinese companies that went into effect on January 11. The U.S. has also recently announced that the application of sanctions against certain Chinese securities will be delayed from January 28 to May 27, 2021.

Background:

These sanctions prohibit U.S. persons from purchasing publicly traded securities, including options and other derivatives, of certain companies affiliated with the military of the People's Republic of China. We sent you this notice because you hold a position in at least one of the securities the U.S. has stated will be subject to the sanctions effective March 9, 2021.

Who will the sanctions apply to?

Currently, the sanctions only apply to "U.S. persons." A U.S. person includes, "any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States." The definition of U.S. Persons includes our clients who are resident in, citizens of or incorporated in the U.S, or owned by U.S. persons.

What restrictions will the sanctions place on our Clients who are U.S. Persons?

U.S. Persons may not buy any of the sanctioned securities after the effective date of the sanctions-February 1, March 9, or March 15 as listed below-unless the purchase is to close an existing short position. They may close existing positions in these securities up until June 2, 2022 assuming the listing exchanges offer trading and the clearinghouse will settle the trades. In recognition of these actions, opening orders and inbound transfers of sanctioned securities will not be accepted, effective immediately.

What types of securities do the sanctions cover?

The sanctions cover all securities, including stocks, bonds, warrants, options and other derivatives such as ADRs. The sanctions also cover ETFs, index funds and mutual funds that include the CCMC securities.

What individual securities are subject to the sanctions?

As we noted above, sanctions on the first wave of CCMC securities went into effect on January 11, 2021. We have listed below all of the CCMC issuers whose securities are subject to sanctions and the effective date of those sanctions.

We will provide you with an update if the U.S. government issues additional guidance. For reference, the U.S. Executive Order announcing the sanctions is available here and guidance provided to date is available here.