18/06/2026

BIZ & FINANCE THURSDAY | JUNE 18, 2026

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US holds off blacklisting DeepSeek, chipmaker CXMT

Binance said set to lose operating rights in EU

FRANKFURT: Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, is set to lose permission to serve European Union (EU) clients from next month because its licence application is about to be rejected, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Under new EU rules, called MiCA, crypto firms have until the end of June to obtain a licence to allow them to keep servicing clients across the bloc. Binance’s application, made to Greece’s market regulator, is set to be turned down, the people said. European regulators have been attempting to rein in crypto exchanges, which allow people to trade cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin around the globe. Under MiCA, crypto companies have to apply for licences from regulators in individual EU countries, which they can use as a “passport” to operate throughout the 27-nation bloc. At stake is oversight of the multi trillion-dollar crypto industry, which regulators have long warned could destabilise markets and harm investors if not properly supervised. The Greek rejection would mean Binance will not be given the green light to operate in the EU, leaving the fate of Binance’s customers based in the bloc uncertain. Binance posted on X after the Reuters report was published that it intends to “support an orderly process and minimise disruption to our users”, without giving further details. A spokesman for Binance, which has 300 million customers worldwide, earlier said it has been pursuing a MiCA licence and had worked with regulators for 18 months. Binance believes it has met the requirements to be MiCA authorised, the spokesman said. It understood that Greece’s Hellenic Capital Market Commission had completed its review of the application and it was considered compliant. His predecessor and Binance founder Changpeng Zhao, known as CZ, was pardoned by US President Donald Trump last year after earlier pleading guilty to violating US money-laundering laws. HCMC declined to comment on Binance’s application, citing confidentiality rules. Without a licence, Binance would not qualify to continue operating in the EU from the start of July. The EU rules have brought regulatory oversight to the crypto industry’s operations in Europe, even as the Trump administration has eased US regulation. “We will provide a further update before June 30,“ Binance said, adding that delays in the MiCA authorisation process risk pushing activity outside the EU. Cryptocurrencies are a form of digital money, recorded on a kind of ledger called blockchain.

according to the third person. Since late 2025, Jeffrey Kessler, under secretary of commerce for industry and security, has sought to avoid listing Chinese parties for fear of escalating tensions between the US and China, according to the first source and other people familiar with the matter. The dearth of listings offers a window into what many see as a larger problem at the Bureau of Industry and Security under the second Trump administration – an inability to act or issue new rules to combat threats that can be reduced by restricting exports. Early last year, for instance, the bureau said it would replace a regulation created under former president Joe Biden to govern global access to US-origin AI chips. But it has still not published a replacement, and is not enforcing the earlier rule, opening a potential loophole that may have allowed the chips to be exported to Chinese companies outside China. Decisions regarding whether to add an entity to the list are made by an interagency committee, which includes officials from the departments of Commerce, Defence, Energy, State and sometimes Treasury. But the first two sources said the committee has approved companies for the list and Commerce has not published them. At least 75 Chinese companies involved in advanced chipmaking, semiconductor equipment and AI have been approved for blacklisting, one source said.

The US has not posted any additions to its Entity List since October, the longest stretch between new postings in more than a decade, said Philip Luck, who studies global supply chains at the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies. “The Entity List is like whack-a mole and you’ve got to keep whacking the moles,” Luck said, referring to an arcade game. The lack of new listings is likely allowing American technology to reach adversaries who could use it against the US, he added. “The fact the US hasn’t put any companies on the Entity List since October demonstrates that trade policy is overshadowing the use of a critical national security tool,” said Kevin Kurland, a former Commerce Department official. Multiple Chinese companies were slated for the list for supplying Russian drones that were recovered in Poland last September, one of the people said. Listing those lesser known companies is even more important to US suppliers who may not know the nature of their business, the person said. Dozens of other Chinese companies were identified last year as national security risks for selling restricted Nvidia chips to Chinese universities, but were not added to the list, a third source said. Chinese companies that make and sell drones and robot dogs for the country’s military were also selected as potential targets,

extract capabilities from its Claude AI platform to improve their own models, and OpenAI warned lawmakers that DeepSeek also was targeting its models. ChangXin Memory Technologies, China’s top memory chipmaker, was designated as a Chinese military company by the Defence Department under the Biden administration. The Commerce Department considered placing it on its Entity List more than a year ago, Reuters and others reported. US companies cannot ship goods, software and technology to companies on the list without a licence, which is likely to be denied. DeepSeek and CXMT could not be reached for comment outside normal business hours. The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security, which oversees the list, did not directly respond to questions about why updates to the Entity List had not been published since last year, or comment on DeepSeek and CXMT. The bureau uses “many policy and enforcement tools, including the Entity List ... on a daily basis to ensure we are combating bad actors,“ BIS said in a statement. The US and China are locked in a tense rivalry over technology, trade and national security, with Washington using tariffs and export controls to keep Beijing at bay while China maintains a stranglehold on rare earth minerals that defence, auto and chipmaking firms need.

The “Project Sunrise” plan to bypass Middle Eastern and Asian hubs on London flights and offer direct services on modified Airbus long-haul jets has been in the works since 2017 and is due to enter service by the end of next year. The aim is to compress what was once a five-day trek on the “Kangaroo Route” to London to 22 hours at most, depending on routes and winds. The trip now takes 24 to 25 hours via Singapore. New York, which Qantas currently serves from Sydney via Auckland, is also among the initial destinations, but the airline has so far not said which will be introduced first. The project is a major gamble for the Australian carrier, which has bet billions on fleet changes, cabins and research into the health effects of crossing the planet in a single flight. To succeed it must persuade passengers to pay more to avoid layovers, while minimising the discomfort from long flights. “What they are selling is time, and WASHINGTON DC: The US has held off adding China’s AI startup DeepSeek, memory chipmaker CXMT and more than 100 other companies flagged as national security risks to a trade blacklist, according to two people familiar with the matter, as the Trump administration tries to avoid escalating tensions with Beijing. DeepSeek, CXMT and other companies were approved by an interagency committee last year for addition to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which is being reported for the first time. Reuters is also exclusively reporting the large number of companies awaiting publication on the list. DeepSeek, whose low-cost AI model sent shockwaves through the technology world in January 2025, has supported China’s military and intelligence operations, a senior US State Department official told Reuters last year, adding that the startup tried to use Southeast Asian shell companies to illegally access advanced US chips. This year, Anthropic said it identified a campaign by DeepSeek and two other Chinese AI labs to illicitly o More than 100 Chinese firms remain off Entity List despite security concerns

Qantas to unveil first ultra-long-haul Project Sunrise route TOULOUSE: Qantas Airways is set to unveil the first destination for the world’s longest non-stop flights from eastern Australia to London or New York, tackling one of the few unbroken barriers of air travel after years of delays. they absolutely need to get a premium on all the cabins, particularly business and premium economy,“ said aviation analyst John Strickland. Qantas named Project Sunrise after the airline’s double sunrise endurance flights during World War Two, which remained airborne long enough to see two sunrises.

The airline has estimated the project could add more than A$400 million (RM1.1 billion) a year to earnings. Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson said in February it was based on the assumption the non-stop flights could attract ticket prices around 20% higher than one-stop alternatives in premium cabins. But analysts say high energy prices resulting from the Gulf conflict have raised the bar for breaking even. Jefferies analysts said in a note in April – after the initial US-Iran ceasefire but before this week’s interim peace deal – that passengers would continue to prefer flying direct to Europe via Perth or switching from Middle Eastern to Asian hubs through 2027. “Consequently, we expect a positive market for Project Sunrise flights to London,“ they said. Gulf carriers like Emirates, which redrew the aviation map around their hubs, have indicated they will defend their market. Aiding their efforts, the

Project Sunrise will use specially modified Airbus A350 jets to fly non-stop from eastern Australia to London or New York in as little as 22 hours. – AFPPIX

1000ULR planes ordered by Qantas. The 238-seat planes feature an extra rear-centre fuel tank helping to increase the range by 1,000 nautical miles (1,852 km) to 10,000 nautical miles. The flights are so long that much of the fuel will be used merely to carry the weight of the rest of the fuel. The first of the planes is set to be delivered in April 2027, about five years later than originally expected due to the Covid-19 pandemic and then widespread aerospace supply chain issues. – Reuters

Australian government yesterday lifted a months-long “do not travel” warning on Gulf hubs that had voided most travel insurance policies even for those in transit. Qantas is due to outline the economics of the new direct flights to investors, and pitch its customised cabins to a wider audience at an event in Toulouse yesterday. Airbus won the Project Sunrise order after an intense battle with Boeing’s 777X in 2019. Earlier this month, it staged the first test flight for one of 12 modified A350