Smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp. has become the latest Chinese technology group targeted by the Trump administration, with its astonishing addition to a US black investment list that has sent its shares down sharply.
The addition of analysts and investors with the wrong foot from Xiaomi. Xiaomi, a consumer electronics company focusing on cell phones and home appliances, has managed to avoid U.S. pressure, even as Washington tightens the screws of Chinese technology groups, including Huawei Technologies Co., trying to gain access to U.S. technology and finance to limit.
Xiaomi’s share has more than doubled in the last twelve months and the company has quickly gained market share. In the third quarter of 2020, it acquired Apple Inc. surpassed to become the third largest smartphone maker in the world, according to Gartner.
On Thursday, the US Department of Defense added Xiaomi to a list of companies that it said supported the Chinese army. According to an executive order issued by President Trump, the designation means that after 60 days, American investors will not be able to buy Xiaomi shares, and that they have one year to sell existing shares.
Xiaomi’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell nearly 14% on Friday before closing 10% lower.