Crackdown

Photo: Imaginechina (AP)The U.S. is apparently moving on two fronts to try and create an edge for itself in the chip-making market. One is to try and emphasize American chipmakers with billions of dollars in funding. That could be years and years before we even see a change in the market thanks to new factories, however, the White House is also thinking that sticking its foot out to trip up Chinese chip makers going at full sprint may give it enough time to get its own chip capacity up to speed.A Monday report from…

The United States is considering limiting shipments of American chipmaking equipment to memory chip makers in China including Yangtze Memory Technologies Company Limited (YMTC), according to four people familiar with the matter, part of a bid to halt China's semiconductor sector advances and protect US companies.If President Joe Biden's administration proceeds with the move, it could also hurt South Korean memory chip juggernauts Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, the sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.…

China's video games sector revenue declined in the first half of 2022 for the first time since the data was made available 14 years ago, as the world's biggest video games market continues to reel from Beijing's tightening oversight. The industry's combined revenue declined 1.8 percent to 147.7 billion yuan ($21.8 billion) in the six months ended June, according to a report published by the China Audio-Video and Digital Publishing Association, a state-backed industry group. It marks the first drop since the data began…

China has launched a multi-pronged crackdown on its tech companies, leaving startups and decades-old firms alike operating in a new, uncertain environment.Here are sectors that are facing regulatory pressure:Gaming companiesChinese regulators have slashed the amount of time players under the age of 18 can spend on online games to an hour of gameplay on Fridays, weekends and holidays, in response to growing concern over gaming addiction, state media said on Monday.Tech companies eyeing IPOsChina is framing rules to ban…

Over 200 Chinese gaming companies have pledged to regulate their industry to combat gaming addiction, including through the possible use of facial recognition to identify minors, a state-backed gaming association said on Friday.The statement, published by the CGIGC gaming association, which is affiliated to the online game publishing regulator National Press and Publication (NPPA), on its official WeChat account, was signed by 213 companies including Tencent and NetEase.China has expressed strong concern over growing…

Financial Times: India escalates its crackdown on Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, which control ~60% of its smartphone market, with claims of tax evasion and unlawful remittances — Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi hit by claims of tax evasion and unlawful remittances in legal actions that have stoked tensions with China Financial Times: India escalates its crackdown on Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi, which control ~60% of its smartphone market, with claims of tax evasion and unlawful remittances — Oppo,…

US tech giant Epic Games said it will shut down its popular survival game Fortnite in China, months after authorities imposed a series of strict curbs on the world's biggest gaming market as part of a sweeping crackdown on the technology sector.Beijing has embarked on a wide-ranging regulatory clampdown on a number of industries in a drive to tighten its control of the economy, with tech firms taking the brunt of the pain.In September, officials said they wanted to curb addiction in the gaming-mad nation by announcing…

Chinese gaming and social media giant Tencent posted its slowest quarterly profit growth in two years on Wednesday, hurt by a gaming crackdown, and said the outlook for the advertising sector would remain weak into next year.Net profit for the three months through September rose 3 percent to CNY 39.5 billion (roughly Rs. 45,962 crore), the company said in a statement. This beat analyst expectations who were predicting a decline, according to Refinitiv data.Revenue climbed 13 percent to CNY 142.4 billion (roughly Rs.…

China's social media and networking platforms are beginning to restrict operations of NFT platforms. They fear losing operational permissions in the country if they allow NFT marketplaces to operate because the government of China is clamping down on all kinds of crypto-related activities. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are blockchain-based digital collectibles, most of which are sold via online marketplaces in return for cryptocurrencies. China has, in the last six months, imposed several restrictions on the crypto sector,…

Alibaba Group is cutting over a third of staff in its in-house deals team, four people with knowledge of the matter said, after Beijing's sweeping regulatory crackdown sharply slowed the Chinese e-commerce behemoth's dealmaking pace. Alibaba plans to reduce its strategic investment team of more than 110 people, mainly based in mainland China, to about 70, said two of the people, adding the company has already informed a bulk of staffers of their redundancy. Alibaba did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The…