Qualcomm Faces Chinese Anti-Trust Investigation

Qualcomm has confirmed it is facing an investigation by the Chinese government over allegations the chip maker has broken the country’s anti-monopoly law (AML).

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has informed Qualcomm it has launched proceedings but has not revealed any specific charges as “the substance of the investigation is confidential.”

“The Company is not aware of any charge by the NDRC that Qualcomm has violated the AML,” said Qualcomm. “We will continue to cooperate with the NDRC as it conducts its confidential investigation.”

Qualcomm China

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon processers are used in a number of high-end smartphones and it has been suggested China is looking to give local manufacturers an advantage ahead of the launch of 4G networks in December by China Mobile, China Unicorn and China Telecom.

Foreign companies are set to benefit greatly from the rollout of LTE in the country, with China Mobile, the world’s largest operator, giving European telecommunications equipment manufacturers a third of a $3.2 billion (£2.04bn) contract to build its new network.

Chinese firms ZTE and Huawei, the latter of which has secured the most 4G contracts to date, have received 25 percent of the order, while Ericsson, Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Solutions and Networks have all received ten percent of the initial contracts. In addition, the iPhone 5S is reportedly finally set to launch on China Mobile next month, following years of negotiations.

Last week Qualcomm unveiled two new chipsets, the Snapdragon 850, which is capable of bringing 4K video to mobile devices, and another aimed at supporting the growing ‘Internet of Things’.

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