China’s anti-monopoly regulator wants to set the record straight: Reports that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is being probed for monopolistic behavior related to its Windows operating system and Office suite of products are incomplete. In fact, the US software giant is also being probed for monopolistic behavior related to its Internet Explorer web browser, and its media player product.
Perhaps this clarification doesn’t sound that strange to anyone outside China, but it’s actually quite unusual coming from the highly secretive State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). The regulator is one of 2 government agencies conducting a wide range of recent anti-trust probes into mostly foreign firms, raising concerns among multinationals and western governments that they are being unfairly targeted by Beijing for such probes. Read Full Post…
Sometimes reporting on China’s high-tech industries feels like being trapped in a world where the same things happen again and again, as Beijing and companies repeatedly make the same mistakes. The nation is famous for its boom-bust cycles fueled by companies piling into the latest hot products, leading to price wars and battles for market share before most players go bankrupt or leave the space. A similar phenomenon has occurred in computer operating system (OS) space, where China has tried repeatedly to foster development of products that can supplant Microsoft’s (Nasdaq: MSFT) dominant Windows OS and more recently Google’s (Nasdaq: GOOG) popular Android OS for smartphones. Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 27. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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Sinopec (HKEx: 386), Tencent (HKEx: 700) Join To Develop Non-Oil Business (Chinese article)
Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) Probe Also Includes Browser, Media Player – SAIC (Chinese article)
China Investment Corp Boosts SMIC (HKEx: 981) Stake To 12 Pct From 11.25 Pct (HKEx announcement)
KKR Agrees To Buy 18 Pct Of China Chicken Firm For $400 Mln (English article)
Trina Solar (NYSE: TSL) Announces Q2 Results (PRNewswire)
Apple promises to safeguard data on Chinese servers
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has emerged as a rare voice of reason in the war of words between China and the west over cyber security, with word that the global tech giant has decided to host some of its users’ personal data on Chinese-based computers. Apple’s move was almost surely a business decision first and foremost, providing its Chinese users with speedier services. But the move also sends a signal that other western companies should consider following, reflecting Apple’s belief that using Chinese infrastructure doesn’t pose a risk to compromising a company’s private data. Read Full Post…
After saying little or nothing about its wave of anti-competitive probes against some of the world’s top firms, China is finally breaking the silence with its justification for actions that have targeted everyone from software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) to leading US car maker General Motors (NYSE: GM). The justification is coming via the state-owned English-language newspaper the China Daily, and argues that such investigations are common in the west and aren’t targeted against foreign firms. This long-overdue explanation also hints that Beijing may be worried about a potential action by the US and European Union, who may be preparing to complain to the World Trade Organization (WTO) that Beijing discriminates against western companies. Read Full Post…
I’ve been writing regularly about the flood of anti-monopoly probes against western firms recently, so it seems only appropriate that I end the week with a flurry of new headlines involving cases against chipmaker Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), luxury car maker Audi (Frankfurt: VOWG), and a long-overdue response from a major western business group. In the first news bit, the anti-monopoly investigator has reportedly nabbed a government insider who was helping Qualcomm in the case against it. The second bit has media reporting the regulator is preparing to levy a large but relatively manageable fine against Audi. And the third bit has the EU’s local chamber of commerce calling on China to stop bullying its members. Read Full Post…
The microblogging realm was filled with words of sympathy this past week at the woes for some of China’s longest-serving foreign tech firms whose names have become household words over the last 20 years. Leading the list were a flood of comments on Nokia, whose name was once synonymous with cellphones in China but later fell on hard times and last week laid off a big part of its Chinese workforce. Meantime, other tech executives looked on in wonder at the recent plight of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Mercedes-Benz, which have joined a growing list of western firms being investigated by Chinese anti-trust regulators.
Chinese firms haven’t been the only ones feel the pain these past few weeks, as the nation’s Internet regulator has also cracked down on social media sites with its eye squarely on industry titan Tencent (HKEx: 700). As that happened, the operator of the popular WeChat and QQ instant messaging platforms got some rare sympathy from rival Weibo (Nasdaq: WB), the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, which itself came under a similar crackdown 2 years ago. Read Full Post…
Update: Since originally writing this post, several reports have appeared saying Apple’s name wasn’t included on the latest government procurement list because it failed to submit the necessary paperwork.
I really didn’t want to write again about another major multinational getting bashed in China, but it seems hard to ignore the latest reports that gadget giant Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has formally joined the list of companies being banned from selling to the government due to national security concerns. At this rate, Chinese government agencies won’t be able to buy technology products from any foreign companies soon, and will be forced to do all their buying from domestic firms. That’s somewhat ironic, since many of those domestic firms are far less experienced than big global names like Apple and Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), and thus are far more likely to unknowingly design products with major security flaws. Read Full Post…
Mercedes under microscope for after-sales practices
It’s a new day, which means it’s time for yet another government investigation into foreign firms that are coming under increasing scrutiny for both their products and business practices. This time it’s luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz (Frankfurt DAIGn) that’s coming under the microscope for anti-competitive pricing in China. Word of this latest probe comes just a week after software giant Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) revealed it is being probed for monopolistic business practices. (previous post)
Other major western multinationals have been probed for similar anti-competitive behavior in the latest year-long campaign, and still others have been targeted over allegations of corruption. Yet another group has been blacklisted from selling to to government organizations over concerns their products could create national security risks. Read Full Post…
Beijing’s recent campaign against foreign tech firms is picking up more momentum, with word that security software makers Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC) and Kaspersky Lab have been banned from selling to government agencies. The move continues a trend that has seen Beijing take similar moves against software from Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and hardware from IBM (NYSE: IBM) over worries that their products could compromise national security.
Meantime in another ominous sign for foreign tech firms, a government ministry that conducts anti-monopoly investigations is warning Microsoft not to interfere with its ongoing probe of the company. Industry watchers will note that the warning from the State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) comes as an unrelated trial gets set to start for a British-American couple being charged with interfering in a bribery probe into British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline (London: GSK). Read Full Post…
The following press releases and media reports about Chinese companies were carried on August 5. To view a full article or story, click on the link next to the headline.
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