The TikTok deal approved by U.S. President Donald Trump is facing another round of uncertainty because its Beijing-based owner, ByteDance, said it has never heard of the US$5 billion education fund that Trump claims is part of the deal.

ByteDance’s statement came after Trump approved a joint takeover of TikTok’s U.S. operations by Oracle and Walmart. The companies would make a US$5 billion contribution to an education fund, Trump added.

“We want to clarify that we only heard of the US$5 billion education fund for the first time in the news,” ByteDance said in its official account on Toutiao on Saturday, citing media reports of the education fund.

“The company has been committed to investing in the education field, and plans to work with partners and global shareholders to launch online classroom projects based on AI and video technology for students around the world.”

The U.S. president says he considers the Chinese video-sharing platform a cybersecurity threat.

A new company called TikTok Global will be set up and headquartered in Texas. Oracle and Walmart announced that they will acquire 12.5% and 7.5% stakes respectively. Oracle will become TikTok’s secure cloud provider, while Walmart’s chief executive, Doug McMillon, will sit on the new company’s five-member board.

An initial public offering in the U.S. has been planned to go ahead next year, a Walmart spokesperson said.

The deal was hoped to bring TikTok’s value to US$60 billion, according to a Bloomberg report.

When the new company is in place ByteDance will still hold the remaining 80% of TikTok, but since 40% of ByteDance is owned by U.S. venture capital firms, TikTok Global could be seen as a company controlled mainly by U.S. money, according to a CNBC report.

TikTok Global also pledged to offer 25,000 jobs in the U.S. By comparison, Facebook currently employs 45,000 people and Twitter 4,900, Bloomberg reported.

The prohibition against U.S. transactions with TikTok will be delayed for a week following the deal’s announcement, the U.S. Department of Commerce said. But it did not mention any delay for the similar ban on WeChat transactions scheduled on Sunday.

However, in an abrupt turn of events on Sunday, a federal judge has issued a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s order banning WeChat’s U.S. operations. The decision to force Apple and Google to remove the key Chinese app violates rights under the First Amendment, the judge ruled.

The approval of the TikTok deal will be a favorable move for Trump’s election campaign, said Francis Fong, the president of the Hong Kong Information Technology Federation. However, technological details of the deal may still require approval from the Chinese government, which was reluctant to allow TikTok’s sale to the U.S., he said.

The TikTok sale will set an example for Chinese corporations operating in the U.S., Fong added. But he does not expect WeChat’s owner, Tencent, to submit to a similar agreement. It may instead abandon the U.S. market, he said.

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