The British government has reportedly started mobilizing economic officials since April, hoping to do everything they can to persuade SoftBank Group Corp. to list chip designer ARM in London.

"We hope Arm will continue to build its business here, leveraging the UK's unrivalled mix of skills and capital," a government spokesman said. He gave no details of the action, but said the government was "committed to making the UK the most attractive place for innovative businesses to grow and finance".

Arm's chip design IP licensing has an irreplaceable role in the entire semiconductor industry. In addition, the company has always been regarded by the United Kingdom as "a jewel in the technology crown". If it fails to be listed in the country, it will be very important to the British government and the London stock exchange. The damage done is self-evident. The concern among British officials is that rising logistics costs and other factors have led many in the British public to believe that Brexit was the wrong choice. If Arm goes public across the Atlantic, it could give the impression that the London Stock Exchange is no longer in its prime.

According to reports, the British Prime Minister has also joined the "fight" for Arm's listing location, and he has written to several SoftBank executives on the matter. The "Financial Times" believes that the British officials' move is to encourage domestic investors to buy Arm's shares after its listing, and by the way to promote the advantages of listing in London.

Although SoftBank Group, the parent company of Arm, has not made a final decision, in February this year, Masayoshi Son said at a press conference that "Nasdaq, which can play a key role in the high-tech field, may be the most suitable." In another earnings call in May, he hinted that Arm could go public by the end of the year.

What is clear is that while the UK wants Arm to list in London, SoftBank seems to prefer Wall Street as an IPO location.

As part of a bid to boost competitiveness, British financial officials have relaxed the London Stock Exchange's "free float" requirements for the proportion of freely tradable shares to attract more companies, such as British international money transfer startup Wise, which opted to list in London last year. However, considering the size of the market and the number of investors, some industry players believe that the Nasdaq listing is more likely to bring Arm a higher valuation.

However, SoftBank Group's public relations department said that "no decision has been made on the location of Arm's listing, and various possibilities are being considered."