ByteDance applies for Chinese licence to sell TikTok stake to Oracle

Beijing: TikTok’s owner said Thursday it has applied for a Chinese technology export licence as it tries to complete a deal with Oracle and Walmart to keep the popular video app operating in the United States.

Beijing tightened control over technology exports last month in an effort to gain leverage over Washington’s attempt to force an outright sale of TikTok to US owners. The White House says the video service is a security risk because the personal information of its millions of US users could be handed over to Chinese authorities.

President Donald Trump said this week he would approve a proposed deal in which Oracle Corp. and Walmart Inc. could initially own a combined 20% of a new US entity, TikTok Global. Trump said Oracle must have “total control.”