Blacklisted Chinese firm cleared for $500 million Hong Kong IPO

Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company Megvii’s plans for a $500 million Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO) are back on track after its application was cleared by the city’s stock exchange, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Megvii – which was blacklisted by the U.S. administration in October – was asked to provide more information in November when the company faced the Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing committee to seek the go-ahead for the transaction.
Megvii, which is known for its facial recognition platform Face++, is aiming to be the first Chinese AI firm to go public.
The plan comes after the Trump administration in October placed Megvii on a banned trade list with seven other Chinese firms for their alleged involvement in human rights violations related to Beijing’s treatment of Muslim minority populations in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.