Smartphone giant Xiaomi Corp. became the latest Chinese technology group to be targeted by the Trump administration, with its surprising addition to a US investment blacklist that brought its shares down significantly.
The addition of Xiaomi analysts and investors on the wrong track. Xiaomi, a consumer electronics company focused on cellphones and home appliances, had managed to avoid US pressure, even as Washington turned the screws on Chinese technology groups, including Huawei Technologies Co., to increase their access to US technology and funding. curb.
Xiaomi’s stock has more than doubled in the last 12 months and the company has quickly gained market share. In the third quarter of 2020, Apple Inc. to become the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, according to Gartner.
On Thursday, the US Department of Defense added Xiaomi to a list of companies that support the Chinese military. Under the terms of an executive order from President Trump, the designation means that US investors will not be able to buy Xiaomi stock after 60 days and that they have one year to sell existing positions.
Xiaomi’s Hong Kong-listed shares fell nearly 14% on Friday before closing 10% lower.