Xiaomi wins temporary extension of US investment ban

The Trump-era ban was lifted Friday by a U.S. federal judge, who ruled that Washington has “substantial evidence” to support his claim that Xiaomi is owned or controlled by China’s military.
A few days before President Joe Biden took office in January, the U.S. Department of Defense added Xiaomi to a list of companies it said were affiliated with the Chinese military. Businesses on the list were subject to severe restrictions, including the US investment ban.

If U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras had not issued a preliminary injunction, the ban would have taken effect Monday, according to court documents.

Shares of Xiaomi rose as much as 12% in Hong Kong on Monday. The stock last rose more than 7%, on its way to its best day since December.

The initial news of Xiaomi’s inclusion on the Department of Defense’s list caused a 10% dip in the company’s inventory. Xiaomi at the time denied ownership or control by the Chinese military, and later filed a lawsuit for its removal.

The court “is somewhat skeptical that weighty national security interests are actually involved here,” Contreras said in his opinion Friday, adding that the court supports Xiaomi’s argument that the ban would cause the company ‘irreparable damage’ through ‘serious’ reputation and irreparable damage. inflict ‘economic injuries. ‘

Xiaomi said in a submission to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Sunday that it was “delighted” with the decision to suspend the ban temporarily, saying it would continue to pressure the court to permanently remove itself from the list of the Department of Defense.

The Department of Defense did not respond outside U.S. business hours to a request for comment on its next steps in the case.

In the weeks before Biden took office, the Trump administration stepped up its campaign against Chinese companies. In addition to Xiaomi, the Pentagon added eight other companies to its list in mid-January, including Luokung Technology, a Chinese map software developer listed on the Nasdaq. Luokung was also supposed to stop trading on Monday, but the company announced last week that the suspension was postponed until May because the Department of Defense misspelled the company’s name when it first added it to the agency’s list. is.

Other Chinese companies have also continued to suffer from the limitations of the Trump era. The New York Stock Exchange announced late last month that it would withdraw from CNOOC, China’s third-largest oil company, to comply with an order banning U.S. investment in certain businesses signed by former President Donald Trump in November. Its shares stalled on March 9th.

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