Lawmaker Asks 2 US Banks to End IPO Role With China’s CATL
House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar, R-Mich., urged JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America on April 17 to stop participating in the upcoming initial public offering of Chinese electric vehicle battery producer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. (CATL), which the Defense Department recently placed on its Section 1260H list of Chinese military companies (see 2501060024).
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In letters to JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon and Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Moolenaar said the banks’ involvement in the IPO aids China’s military buildup and human rights abuses. CATL is helping modernize China’s submarine fleet with advanced lithium-ion batteries, and the company has ties to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, or XPCC, a sanctioned paramilitary entity involved in the “genocide” of China’s Uyghur Muslims, he said.
Moolenaar said that if the banks won’t withdraw from underwriting the IPO, they should explain why. JPMorgan declined to comment on the matter. Bank of America and CATL didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. China's Foreign Ministry has objected to the Section 1260H listing (see 2501070019).