ByteDance in talks to list some of its businesses

China's ByteDance is in early talks to take some of its businesses public including popular video app Doyin and its news aggregation service Toutiao.

According to CNBC, TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, spoke with investment bankers to consider the possibility of an initial public offer for some of its divisions.

Earlier in 2020, the company had discussed the move with the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges but nothing was decided, the same source reportedly said.

The company started considering listing businesses after being caught in the middle of the tensions between the US and Chinese governments.

ByteDance was accused by the US of using TikTok to collect user data and spying for Beijing. TikTok denies such accusations.

The President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier in 2020 to ban the app from being used in the US but the order was blocked temporarily by a judge in September. Trump said that the order would go ahead unless the company sold its US operations to a national company.

Companies such as Oracle and Walmart have both placed bids for TikTok but it is yet unclear what the final deal will be.