U.S. listing ban on Luokung lifted after judge's decision

Luokung Technology

06/05/2021 18:39

By Karen Freifeld
    WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) - Nasdaq Inc  NDAQ.O  has
withdrawn a decision to delist the shares of Luokung Technology
Corp  LKCO.O , the Chinese mapping technology company said on
Thursday, after a U.S. judge suspended an imminent investment
ban imposed under the Trump administration.
    The ruling and listing news sent shares of the company
nearly 20% higher. Luokung issued a news release on Thursday
saying Nasdaq notified the company it has withdrawn its
delisting letter and shares would continue to trade on the
market, not be suspended on May 7. A Nasdaq spokesman declined
to comment.
    A spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice did not
immediately respond to a request for comment.
    Luokung is the second company on a U.S. list of alleged
Communist Chinese military companies subject to an investment
ban to win a preliminary injunction halting the designation.    
    U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras in Washington
issued a similar order in March in favor of Beijing-based
smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp  1810.HK .
    In granting an injunction in the case brought by Luokung
challenging the ban, Contreras said the U.S. Department of
Defense's designation process was flawed.
    “Many of the associations the Department of Defense seemed
most troubled by - such as Luokung’s purported forays into space
systems or its potential future contracts with the Chinese
National Geospatial Information Center ... do not appear to have
materialized, nor are they likely to bear fruit before this case
can be decided on the merits,” the judge wrote in his decision. 
    He added the government has not identified a single
technology transfer from Luokung to the People's Republic of
China. 
    More than 40 companies were added to a list of U.S.
companies subject to the investment ban in the waning days of
the Trump administration. 
    

 (Reporting by Karen Freifeld in New York
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
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