BlackRock shelves China bond ETF launch ‘indefinitely’

NEW YORK: BlackRock Inc has “indefinitely” postponed the launch of its China bond exchange-traded fund, the Financial Times reports in New York, citing two unidentified people familiar with the decision.

Growing US-China tensions were one reason for the move, with one of the people saying there was the risk of a political backlash against the prospect of US capital flowing to the Chinese government, the Financial Times said. Another factor was the reverse of the gap in yields between US and Chinese bonds, meaning US Treasury bonds now deliver a higher return than Chinese counterparts, according to the report.