S&P Dow Jones says Xiaomi eligible for index inclusion after investment ban win

In the final days of the Trump administration, the Defence Department had placed Xiaomi on a list of companies with alleged links to the Chinese military.

Xiaomi started the year with the launch of a new flagship smartphone, the Mi 11 (REUTERS)

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp was eligible to be included on indices again, S&P Dow Jones Indices said on Monday, after a federal judge suspended a U.S. investment ban in the company on the grounds it has ties to China's military.

The Defense Department, under the Trump administration in mid-January, added Xiaomi and eight other companies to a list that requires Americans to sell their interests in the firms by a deadline.

S&P DJI said earlier this month it would remove certain securities included in the list but U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras suspended the blacklisting for Beijing-based Xiaomi, citing the U.S. government's "deeply flawed" process for including it in the ban.

Indices that removed Xiaomi will review its securities for eligibility at their next scheduled rebalancing, S&P DJI said on Monday.

The index provider added it would not consider mapping technology company Luokung Technology Corp, which is also suing its inclusion in the list, for addition to indices prior to May 8.