(Reuters) – The Trump administration is considering adding Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and Tencent Holdings Ltd to a blacklist of Chinese companies allegedly owned or controlled by the Chinese military, two people familiar with the matter have Reuters said.
The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal, which said the plan is still under discussion and may not go through as agencies discuss its impact on markets. (op.wsj.com/3nngMYB)
Alibaba and Tencent’s shares both declined by about 3% in the morning trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Alibaba’s US listed shares closed just over 5% on the news on Wednesday, but were trading after hours.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese software applications, including Ant Group’s mobile payment app Alipay, which has heightened tensions with Beijing, two weeks before President Joe Biden , elected.
Alibaba and Tencent did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.
Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru, and Andrea Shalal and Alexandra Alper in Washington; Edited by Shounak Dasgupta and Edwina Gibbs