The U.S. Department of Defense has put Xiaomi and eight other Chinese firms on an investment blacklist that prevents American investors from investing in these companies. All existing American investors will also have to divest their holdings in the backlisted firms by November 11, 2021. Huawei is already a part of this blacklist.
Xiaomi is China"s second-largest and the world"s third-biggest smartphone maker. Notably, Qualcomm Ventures, the venture capital arm of Qualcomm, has invested in Xiaomi. If the decision is not overturned, the San Diego-based chipmaker might have to divest its holdings in Xiaomi by November.
The U.S. government alleges that the nine banned Chinese companies have ties to or are controlled by the Chinese military. In addition to Xiaomi, the list also includes Comac, a plane maker that planned on setting up a factory in the U.S. to compete against Boeing and Airbus.
Do note that this ban from the Trump administration is different from the "Entity List" on which the U.S. Department of Commerce had put Huawei. That list prevents U.S. companies from providing their technology and services to Chinese companies.
It is possible that once the Biden administration takes office from January 20 that the decision will be overturned but it remains to be seen what will manifest.
Source: Reuters