Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) yesterday said it plans to rein in content on WeChat (微信) by culling the number of public accounts on the platform, responding to the latest in a series of Chinese government cleanups that have rattled the Internet sector.
WeChat is cutting limits on “official accounts” — akin to verified Twitter accounts through which individuals and companies share news and information — to just one per person and two per company, the social media service said on its Web site.
That is down from five per company in the past, a reduction intended to comply with regulations on maintaining “healthy” content.
China’s cyberspace watchdogs have in the past year come down hard on its most prominent tech giants, seeking to eradicate content they deem destabilizing.
They have targeted companies such as news aggregator Bytedance Ltd (字節跳動).
WeChat, the go-to everyday app for nearly 1.1 billion people, became one of several platforms to shut 9,800 social media accounts this month.
The cap on accounts marks another setback for Tencent, which has shed more than US$200 billion in market value since peaking in January.
The company relies on content to draw users to WeChat and bolster its appeal to advertisers, and it is already facing intense competition from upstarts such as Bytedance.
On the gaming front, Tencent this week said it had no updates on when regulators would lift a freeze on licensing approvals that has hampered its ability to make money off its biggest games.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
AI-FUELED DEMAND: The company has been benefiting from the skyrocketing prices for DRAM chips amid the AI frenzy, especially its core product — DDR4 DRAM chips DRAM chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp (南亞科技) yesterday reported that its revenue for the first quarter surged 582.91 percent to NT$49.09 billion (US$1.54 billion) from NT$7.19 billion a year earlier, as the supply crunch caused chip price spikes. Last quarter’s figure is the highest on record. On a quarterly basis, revenue jumped 63.14 percent from NT$30.09 billion, the company said. In January, Nanya Technology expected global DRAM supply scarcity to continue through the first half of 2028, thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications. Market researcher TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) forecast prices of standard DRAM chips would rise between 58 percent and 63
HIGHER PRICES: Given rising energy costs, CPC raised natural gas prices for generators by 41.58%, which Taipower said would raise its power generation costs by NT$10 billion State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) has activated its fourth naphtha cracker to boost ethylene supply, aiming to ease concerns over plastic material shortages amid tensions in the Middle East, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. The move is expected to add 19,000 tonnes of supply this month and 30,000 tonnes next month, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Chin-tsang (何晉滄) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. CPC on Tuesday held talks with major polyethylene producers, including Formosa Plastics Corp (台塑), Asia Polymer Corp (亞聚) and USI Corp (台聚), and pledged to supply ethylene feedstock
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