Blacklisted AI startup Megvii moves ahead with Hong Kong IPO plan

Warm welcome for Alibaba offering convinces company to pursue listing, sources say

20191119 CHINA MEGVII FACE

China's Megvii is known for its facial recognition technology. © AP

NARAYANAN SOMASUNDARAM, Nikkei Asian Review chief banking and financial correspondent

HONG KONG -- With investors giving a warm welcome to the massive Hong Kong stock offering of Alibaba Group Holding, Chinese artificial intelligence startup Megvii Technology has decided to move ahead with its own plan to list in the city.

After filing for an initial public offering in August, Megvii put its plans on hold last month when the U.S. government put it on a blacklist of companies that American suppliers should avoid doing business with over its alleged involvement in the repression of Muslims in China's Xinjiang region.

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