US sanctions force Chinese company AI SenseTime to delay IPO | Business and Economic Affairs

The US has approved the company for its role in producing face recognition programs that are used to oppress Uyghur Muslims.

China-based intelligence agency SenseTime Group suspended $ 767m in Hong Kong for the first time (IPO) after it was placed on the black US list.

SenseTime said it remained committed to completing the offer and will publish an additional profile and updated schedule.

Reuters first announced on Monday the company’s plans to scrap the offerings and change what is expected to include the possible consequences of a US currency ban, with a view to re-establishing the IPO approach.

SenseTime plans to sell 1.5 billion shares for HK $ 3.85 ($ 0.49) to HK $ 3.99 ($ ​​0.51), according to the report. That could rise to $ 767m, a figure previously set this year from the $ 2bn target. The stocks are expected to start trading on December 17.

However, instead of setting its price on Friday, as planned, it met with urgent negotiations with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and its future lawyers for the deal amid reports about the upcoming blacklist.

The delay comes after the US Treasury branch on Friday approved the company for its role in developing face recognition programs used to crack down on Uyghur Muslims in the autonomous region of Xinjiang in Western China.

Banks were testing the Investor’s interest in the IPO when news broke of the company’s plans to add to the list of Treasury Department companies called Chinese military companies, which were due to fall on Human Rights Day and SenseTime prices.

SenseTime did not elaborate on the timing of the redesigned IPO by signing up for the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Monday.

“The company remains committed to meeting the global commitments and the list soon,” it said in a statement.

Chinese camps

Another source said the company is trying to move quickly to avoid the requirement to restructure the IPO after January 9 when its expected financial figures need to be adjusted. The company saved about $ 450m from corner stone retailers and can expect many more to stay in the deal, the source added.

The company said it would reimburse all claims, without interest, to all registered subscribers.

UN experts and human rights groups estimate that more than a million people, mostly Uyghurs and a few Muslim members, have been detained in recent years in large camps in western China’s Xinjiang province.

Foreign lawmakers and lawmakers, as well as U.S. secretaries of state in both Biden and Trump states, have described the killing of Uyghurs as a genocide, and have provided evidence of forced and imprisoned incarceration. China denies the allegations and says the number of people in Uyghur exceeds the national average.

SenseTime said in a statement on Saturday that it “strongly condemns what has been said and what has been predicted,” calling the allegations “unfounded”.

Weak markets

SenseTime was supposed to be one of the biggest events of the third quarter in Hong Kong and its suspension exacerbates the ongoing weakness in the city’s IPO market.

China Tourism Group suspended plans to raise about $ 5bn in its second series in early December, citing market uncertainty.

SenseTime IPO was the top HSBC series this year, which co-sponsored with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) and Haitong International.