Microsoft Gets License To Export To Huawei

Microsoft Incorporation MSFT was among the companies who received the license to export some products to China’s Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, the company confirmed to Reuters on Thursday.

What Happened

Microsoft told Reuters that its request for a license to allow export of “mass-market” software to Huawei had been approved.

“On November 20, the U.S. Department of Commerce granted Microsoft’s request for a license to export mass-market software to Huawei. We appreciate the Department’s action in response to our request,” the technology giant told Reuters in an email.

Microsoft didn’t provide any specific details about the software. The license could have been for the company’s Windows operating system, Dan Ives, an analyst with Wedbush Securities told Reuters.

US Eases Huawei Restrictions

The U.S. Department of Commerce on Wednesday said that it has approved about a quarter of the 300 applications it received from companies wanting to export to Huawei, according to Reuters.

Another quarter applications were rejected, while the rest are yet to be processed, the department said.

“The Department is issuing these narrow licenses to authorize limited and specific activities which do not pose a significant risk to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States,” the Commerce Department said in an official statement.

The news comes less than a week after the Commerce Department extended the deadline of the temporary general license granted to Huawei by another three months.

The deadline was extended to give relief to rural carriers who still depend upon Huawei to supply equipment, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said at the time.

Price Action

Microsoft closed 0.094% lower at $149.48 on Thursday.

Photo credit: BenFranske via Wikimedia