U.S. Ends the ZTE Ban with Escrow Agreement, Pushing Up the ZTE Stock Price

U.S. government has entered into an escrow agreement with ZTE, as VOA quoted Department of Commerce on July 12, which removed the ban that has been haunting the company for the past three months.

ZTE will be able to resume its normal operations and be released from the sanction after paying a $400 million deposit to the U.S. government.

The share of the ZTE soared over 25 percent in Hong Kong at the end of the trading day.

Today's ZTE share price.
Today’s ZTE share price.

This is possibly the final chapter of the chronicle as seen from the announcement made by Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Rose on June 7, which requires ZTE to pay $1 billion in fines and $400 million in escrow.

The Department of Commerce stated on Twitter that “Once the monitor is selected and brought on board, the three-pronged compliance regime -the new 10-year suspended denial order, the $400 million escrow, and the monitor- will be in place.”

U.S. Department of Commerce tweet
U.S. Department of Commerce tweet

According to CNET, the Department of Commerce announced a waiver last week allowing a limited number of American suppliers to do business with ZTE. The waiver will expire on August 1 and ZTE is expected to be in compliance with U.S. requirements by then.

The ZTE ban which began this April is “the toughest penalty and strictest compliance regime the Department has ever imposed in such a case”, according to the Department of Commerce. It is also seen as a warning to other Chinese manufacturers eager to compete in the U.S. market.