Government Investigates Chinese Investment In ICON

ICON Aircraft is under investigation by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (Cfius) after a complaint by a group of minority investors who claim the hefty stake in the company by a Chinese company could lead to a technology transfer with military applications. ICON said in a statement last week that the claims are actually a bid by former CEO and company founder Kirk Hawkins to regain control of the company. Hawkins was sacked by the board of directors after the Chinese company, Shanghai Pudong Science and Technology Investment Co., accumulated 47 percent of the shares in the company. Hawkins kept his seat on the board of directors, however.

In their request to Cfius, the shareholders claim the company’s only airplane, a light amphibian marketed as a recreational aircraft, could be turned into a military drone and that its manufacture involves “technology and advanced materials and aerospace manufacturing capabilities" that "should not be allowed to fall into the hands” of China, according to Forbes. ICON rejected the claim, saying “the plane is loaded with stylistic and safety features that make the plane wholly unsuited for military application.” ICON also said the Chinese company was invited by Hawkins to invest in the company and he didn’t have those national security concerns at that time. ICON said it is cooperating with the government investigation.