China's SenseTime Postpones Hong Kong IPO After US Blacklisting

Chinese artificial intelligence start-up SenseTime said Monday it was postponing a planned $767 million initial public offering in Hong Kong after it was blacklisted by the US over human rights concerns in Xinjiang. The US Treasury announced the ban on Friday, saying SenseTime's facial recognition programmes were designed in part to be used against Uyghurs and other mostly Muslim minorities in Xinjiang where UN experts and researchers estimate more than one million have been incarcerated in prison camps. The blacklisting immediately cast a shadow over the company's upcoming IPO plans in Hong Kong, which had been due to take place a week later and illustrated the risks investors face from competing sanctions rules as relations between the world's two biggest economies have soured. On Monday, SenseTime filed a statement with the Hong Kong stock exchange saying it would postpone its listing "to safeguard the interests of the potential investors" as they weigh the impact of being placed on the blacklist. SenseTime said it "remains committed" to listing in Hong Kong soon and would fully refund those who had already invested.