Kingsoft Office rolls its eyes at Trump's ban

STAR-listed Kingsoft Office officials said on Wednesday the ban on its products issued by United States President Donald Trump won’t adversely affect the company, which offers free services to 100-million overseas users. 

Yesterday, Trump ordered a ban on Alipay, WeChat Pay and other apps linked to Chinese companies. In addition to Kingsoft Office’s WPS Office, other apps banned include CamScanner, QQ Wallet, SHAREit, Tencent QQ and VMate.

Kingsoft now has 100-million WPS users in the overseas markets, a tool similar to Microsoft Office.

The company, which had more than 457-million active monthly users at the end of September, is the second most valuable firm in the Shanghai STAR Market, checking in at 183.4 billion yuan (US$29.1 billion). It closed today at 397.96 yuan, a 2.34 percent decrease, compared to a 0.71 percent decrease for the STAR 50 Index.

WPS source codes are developed independently by Kingsoft, without external or US technology licenses, according to company officials.

The executive order takes effect in 45 days, just weeks after Trump is replaced in the White House by President-elect Joe Biden.