‘White Gloves’ Hong Kong Company Banned From Purchasing UK Tech Firm

UK and US warn both direct and middleman CCP purchases are threats to national security

An employee works in the chip manufacturing process at a clean room of the Barcelona Institute for Microelectronics (IMB-CNM) in Bellaterra, near Barcelona, on March 3, 2022. Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images

The United Kingdom has blocked, on grounds of national security, the acquisition of British software design company Pulsic by a Hong Kong company “Super Orange HK Holding Limited” (SOHK), which has been registered for just one year. Several media reports indicated that SOHK has a strong mainland background.

This is not the first case. The UK had earlier banned a mainland company from acquiring a British company on similar grounds. Last month, senior British and American intelligence officials gave an unprecedented joint speech, pointing out the threats of CCP to national security and commercial technology of the two countries and their allies.