Story perspectives

SpaceX IPO Blocks Chinese Investors, Senators Call Pentagon Review

6/6/2026

Summary

SpaceX Blocked

Underwriters were instructed not to accept orders from Hong Kong and mainland China investors, blocking SpaceX’s website and IPO documents in those regions.
Cloudflare said the error usually means IP-address country was blocked, a step Francis Fong of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation says is rare.
Democratic U.S. senators urged a Pentagon review after claims Chinese investors bought stakes, noting the IPO will debut June 12 on Nasdaq at $135 per share.

Summary

Citigroup Blocks ITAR

Citigroup sent a memo to the underwriting syndicate stating that investors from International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-restricted jurisdictions would receive no shares.
Underwriters directed banks to identify any orders from those jurisdictions that entered the institutional book.
The list of restricted jurisdictions includes Lebanon, Russia, Cyprus, Syria, and China.
The exclusion reflects a broader shift away from Chinese capital, which previously invested through offshore special-purpose vehicles.

History

Historical Context

CFIUS has repeatedly halted Chinese-linked acquisitions, such as the 2017 Trump-ordered block of Lattice Semiconductor and the 2019 mandate that led to Grindr’s $608.5 million sale. Reflecting that legacy, underwriters for SpaceX’s June 12, 2024 Nasdaq IPO will bar investors from several high-risk jurisdictions, echoing the ongoing national-security focus established under the Clinton administration.

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SpaceX Blocked

Underwriters were instructed not to accept orders from Hong Kong and mainland China investors, blocking SpaceX’s website and IPO documents in those regions.
Cloudflare said the error usually means IP-address country was blocked, a step Francis Fong of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation says is rare.
Democratic U.S. senators urged a Pentagon review after claims Chinese investors bought stakes, noting the IPO will debut June 12 on Nasdaq at $135 per share.

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