China's AI Startup SenseTime Delays Hong Kong IPO

SenseTime is postponing its big initial public offering after getting caught up in tensions between the United States and China.

Photo Insert: The SenseTime headquarters

The Chinese artificial intelligence startup announced Monday, Dec. 13, 2021, that it would delay its widely anticipated market debut in Hong Kong, where it had planned to raise up to $767 million. It was set to start trading as soon as this week, Michelle Toh reported for CNN Business,

On Friday, the US Treasury Department placed SenseTime on a list of "Chinese military-industrial complex companies." Americans are barred from investing in these firms.

The US Treasury said that SenseTime was sanctioned because of the role its technology plays in enabling human rights abuses against the Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

SenseTime has "strongly" denied the accusations and said it's been "caught in the middle of geopolitical disputes." China's foreign ministry said the sanctions on SenseTime were "based on lies and disinformation."

The company said in a stock exchange filing Monday that it would postpone the listing "to safeguard the interests of the potential investors of the company" and allow them to "consider the potential impact of" the US move on any investments. Investors in Hong Kong who already applied to take part in the IPO will receive refunds, it added.

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