The US government is expected to allow Americans to continue investing in Chinese technology giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.
BABY 4.95%
, Tencent Holdings Ltd.
TCEHY 3.18%
in Baidu Inc.,
BIDU -0.51%
after weighing the alleged ties with China’s military against the potential economic impact of the ban on them.
According to people familiar with Alibaba and Baidu, and the Tencent listed Alibaba and Baidu, and the Hong Kong listed company, they have been investigated among a dozen companies. U.S. investors have until November to sell their stake in any company on the list.
The US no longer plans to add the three companies to the list. Nine other Chinese companies will be added, as well as more than 100 subsidiaries of companies already on the list, the people said.
The decision concludes a week-long battle that Treasury officials, who feared major sales and economic downturn, are trying against the State Department and Pentagon officials to tighten a line against Beijing. Until Wednesday morning, many of the State Department and the Pentagon believed they had a compelling case for the inclusion of the companies once administrative kinks were ironed out, say the people familiar with the matter.
Eventually, the Minister of Finance, Steven Mnuchin, prevailed.
The additions to the list will be submitted to Congress and as soon as they are made public on Wednesday, two of the celebrities said.
Representatives of the departments of state, defense and treasury as well as representatives of Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu did not immediately comment on the decision.
Write to Jing Yang at [email protected], Dawn Lim at [email protected] and Gordon Lubold at [email protected]
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