Three listed Chinese firms used endangered animal parts as ingredients- report

Beijing Tong Ren Tang Chinese Medicine Co

23/10/2023 24:01

By Andrew Silver and Selena  Li
       SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Three publicly
traded Chinese drugmakers which count global banks such as UBS
and HSBC as investors have used parts of endangered animals as
ingredients in their products, an environmental group said.
    In a report published Monday, the London-based Environmental
Investigation Agency urged global investors in the three firms -
Beijing Tong Ren Tang group  600085.SS , Tianjin Pharmaceutical
group  600329.SS  and Jilin Aodong Pharmaceutical Group
 000623.SZ  -  to divest their stakes.
    The three companies are among a list of 72 firms the
environmental non-profit organisation (NGO) said used body parts
of threatened leopards and pangolins as ingredients in at least
88 traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products.
    The group said it focused on the pharmaceutical companies
because they are publicly listed, and display products that
include leopard or pangolin parts on their websites.
    TCM products are known for using a wide variety of animal
parts as ingredients, and manufacturers often publicly tout the
efficacy of such ingredients and list them in on their product
packages. 
    "It’s particularly disappointing to see so many major banks
and financial institutions effectively endorsing this damaging
exploitation," said Avinash Basker, a legal and policy
specialist for the NGO, in a media release.
    "They need to divest from TCM manufacturers using threatened
species at the soonest opportunity." 
    Beijing Tong Ren Tang and Tianjin Pharmaceutical group did
not respond to several emails and calls from Reuters asking for
comment. Jilin Aodong Pharmaceutical Group could not be reached
for comment. 
    The NGO said 62 financial institutions have invested an
unspecified amount in at least one of the three firms, and
include UBS  UBSG.S , Deutsche Bank  DBKGn.DE , HSBC Holdings
 HSBA.L , Citigroup  C.N  and BlackRock  BLK.N .
    Some investors, including Wells Fargo & Co  WFC.N  said they
had either sold the funds which were invested in the TCM firms
or had sold their shares in the companies, the agency said.
    HSBC Global Asset Management Canada and Royal Bank of Canada
told the agency their investments in the companies were limited
to passive or tracker funds, while UBS told the agency its
shareholdings were held on behalf of clients.
    The environmental group said Deutsche Bank, HSBC Holdings,
Citigroup and BlackRock did not respond to its queries.
    Citigroup，Deutsche Bank, BlackRock declined to comment when
asked by Reuters.
    The activist group urged the Chinese government to prohibit
the use of parts of endangered animals for all commercial
purposes in its domestic markets.
    China's National Medical Products Administration did not
respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
    China's amended Wildlife Protection law, which came into
effect in May, bans trade in most wild animals for consumption
as food, but permissions for breeding and utilisation can still
be issued for certain circumstances.

 (Reporting by Andrew Silver in Shanghai and Selena Li in Hong
Kong; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Miral Fahmy)
 ((andrew.silver@thomsonreuters.com;))