Well, detained/kidnapped Huawei Technologies CFO Meng Wanzhou will get to hang out in her Vancouver home while she waits for Donald Trump to figure out whether he wants to push the extradition issue.
Meng was granted bail by a Canadian court on Tuesday evening, a decision that’s been days in the making. A Friday hearing ended with no decision on her release, which means Meng had to spend the weekend in jail.
Now, she’s free (…at last, thank God almighty) thanks to $7.5 million in cash and home equity posted by five people described as “former colleagues and friends” who will guarantee she won’t hop a private jet back to China. Her Vancouver home (or one of them at least – her family has two there worth a combined ~$17 million) will be surveilled by security guards and it sounds like she’ll be strapped with an ankle bracelet for good measure. She’s also subject to unannounced visits by Canadian police.
Apparently, Meng started crying when the judge rendered his decision and everybody clapped in the court room (literally).
Read more on the Huawei saga
Trump Now Taking Hostages, Will Use Huawei CFO As ‘Leverage’ In Trade Talks
‘China Will Take Hostages’: Huawei CFO Arrest Grabs Top Billing For Nervous Markets
Meanwhile, Trump told Reuters he may intervene if it means smoothing things over with China in the course of striking a trade deal.
“Whatever’s good for this country, I would do”, Trump said, adding that “if I think it’s good for what will be certainly the largest trade deal ever made – which is a very important thing – what’s good for national security – I would certainly intervene if I thought it was necessary.”
That’s good news for markets. Meng’s case was widely cited as the proximate cause of last week’s selloff and China’s increasingly shrill rhetoric over the weekend was evidence that Beijing is losing patience with this situation.
The irony in Trump’s “national security” comment is that the whole reason Meng was arrested in the first place is that she allegedly obscured Huawei’s ties to a company doing business with Iran or, more to the point, she’s accused of contravening U.S. sanctions. On top of that, Huawei is at the center of the national security debate as it relates to Chinese tech.
In any event, the offshore yuan looks like it’s getting a boost from the news. USDCNH knee-jerked lower on Wednesday.
(Bloomberg)
What an idiot. If she is guilty she should go to jail. Trump should not be the one to decide who doesn’t have to follow the law. As you can read below even the Chinese know that she encourage blatant cheating, she belongs in jail. This story is pretty damning if true https://bit.ly/2E8fHkD
The wealth effect works!
Yes, it’s quite funny how the Chinese government suddenly became concerned about the human rights of Chinese citizens. I think you could find millions who might differ.
Amateur hour on display. Was it always a trade tool? Was it really separate and now he sees it as a tool to gain leverage? Is it a coincidence that China talks about auto tariffs and we get a bail deal and Pres T saying he could intervene? Is this the Saudi/MBS way that if you pay we’ll ease up on morals and/or illegalities?
Serious, is this the way to run a country???
Canuck, this is not just a Chinese citizen, they still dont care about all citizens.
Green, she and another one involved may just be above the law……………
Glued to the Dow…
Interestingly, she would be the first public representative of a company to be criminally charged with breaking sanctions. At least a dozen US companies have been found guilty and only had to pay a fine, without any charges laid against their public officers.
I guess he must of picked up the taking hostages idea from Kim Jong-un