US government to temporarily lift export curbs on ZTE Corp

The US government plans to temporarily lift export curbs on Chinese telecom equipment and smartphone maker ZTE Corp for alleged Iran sanctions violations, according to a senior Department of Commerce official.

With the commerce department restrictions imposed earlier this month ZTE found it difficult to acquire US components as suppliers were required to apply for an export license before shipping any US-made equipment or parts to ZTE.

According to the department the license applications would generally not be denied.

Reuters quoted an unnamed senior official at the agency as say that the Shenzhen-based ZTE had been ''in active, constructive discussions'' with the Commerce Department for the past week.

''As part of the effort to resolve the matter, and based upon binding commitments that ZTE has made to the U.S. government, Commerce expects this week to be able to provide temporary relief from some licensing requirements,'' the official said.

"The relief would be temporary in nature and would be maintained only if ZTE is abiding by its commitments to the U.S. Government," the official added.

ZTE is among the largest companies on which the commerce department had clamped a near-total export ban, according to public records.

The fourth-ranked smartphone vendor in the US, has a 7-per cent market share, behind Apple Inc, Samsung Electronics Co and LG Electronics Inc, according to research firm IDC. Its customers for the devices, include three of the four largest US mobile carriers: AT&T, T-Mobile US and Sprint Corp.

ZTE shares had not traded on the Hong Kong stock exchange for the past two weeks. The company last week said it was delaying the publication of its annual  results while it assessed the impact of Washington's action.

ZTE further said it would postpone its board meeting. The company's shares last closed at HK$14.16, ahead of a trading suspension on 7 March.