US software firm Microsoft’s online services arm said yesterday it had inked an agreement to tie up with leading Chinese portal Sina (新浪) in its latest move to expand in the world’s largest Web market.
The partnership between MSN China and Sina will allow for some linkage of their services such as blogging and instant messaging, the two companies said in a joint statement.
For example, users will be allowed to log onto Sina’s popular micro-blogging service with their Microsoft Windows Live account name and exchange instant messages with online users of the Chinese service, the statement said.
Updates on Sina’s microblogging service, which is similar to Twitter, will also appear simultaneously on the writer’s Windows Live Messenger. Twitter is blocked in China by government censors.
The partnership “will not only offer our users more convenient and varied Internet applications and experiences, but also further enhance both sides’ competitive advantages,” MSN China general manager Liu Zhenyu (劉震宇) said in the statement.
The statement added that users of Microsoft’s Windows Live Spaces blogging service in China would be able to transfer all content from there to Sina blogs.
The partnership was announced amid an ongoing row between Tencent (騰訊), the operator of China’s popular instant messaging service QQ, and Chinese security software developer Qihoo 360 over privacy issues.
Analysts have said QQ’s growing dominance is likely to push competitors to shore up their market positions.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
‘LEGACY CHIPS’: Chinese companies have dramatically increased mature chip production capacity, but the West’s drive for secure supply chains offers a lifeline for Taiwan When Powerchip Technology Corp (力晶科技) entered a deal with the eastern Chinese city of Hefei in 2015 to set up a new chip foundry, it hoped the move would help provide better access to the promising Chinese market. However, nine years later, that Chinese foundry, Nexchip Semiconductor Corp (合晶集成), has become one of its biggest rivals in the legacy chip space, leveraging steep discounts after Beijing’s localization call forced Powerchip to give up the once-lucrative business making integrated circuits for Chinese flat panels. Nexchip is among Chinese foundries quickly winning market share in the crucial US$56.3 billion industry of so-called legacy
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known