Intel Corp yesterday apologized for asking suppliers to avoid sourcing goods from China’s Xinjiang region after the chipmaker became the latest foreign brand to face the fury of state media regarding the region, where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is accused of widespread abuses.
The company said in a statement on social media that the reference to Xinjiang in a letter sent to suppliers was aimed at complying with US regulations.
Washington has barred imports of goods from Xinjiang over complaints of mass detentions of mostly Muslim minorities, forced abortions and other abuses in the northwestern region.
State media and Chinese social media users criticized Intel for what the Global Times called its “arrogant and vicious move.”
Some called for a boycott.
The letter caused “concerns among our cherished Chinese partners, which we deeply regret,” Intel said, adding that the mention of Xinjiang referred to the need to comply with regulations, not a company position.
Other companies, including retailer Hennes & Mauritz AB and sports apparel brand Nike Inc, have been targeted for criticism and calls for boycotts, after expressing concern about Xinjiang or saying they would stop using materials produced there.
Pop singer Wang Junkai (王俊凱), also known as Karry Wang, on Wednesday announced that he was pulling out of a deal to act as “brand ambassador” for Intel’s Core line of processor chips.
Wang joined other Chinese celebrities who have broken ties with foreign brands over Xinjiang, giving up millions of dollars in income to avoid retaliation by the CCP.
Japanese technology giant Softbank Group Corp said Tuesday it has sold its stake in Nvidia Corp, raising US$5.8 billion to pour into other investments. It also reported its profit nearly tripled in the first half of this fiscal year from a year earlier. Tokyo-based Softbank said it sold the stake in Silicon Vally-based Nvidia last month, a move that reflects its shift in focus to OpenAI, owner of the artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot ChatGPT. Softbank reported its profit in the April-to-September period soared to about 2.5 trillion yen (about US$13 billion). Its sales for the six month period rose 7.7 percent year-on-year
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AI BOOST: Next year, the cloud and networking product business is expected to remain a key revenue pillar for the company, Hon Hai chairman Young Liu said Manufacturing giant Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) yesterday posted its best third-quarter profit in the company’s history, backed by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers. Net profit expanded 17 percent annually to NT$57.67 billion (US$1.86 billion) from NT$44.36 billion, the company said. On a quarterly basis, net profit soared 30 percent from NT$44.36 billion, it said. Hon Hai, which is Apple Inc’s primary iPhone assembler and makes servers powered by Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators, said earnings per share expanded to NT$4.15 from NT$3.55 a year earlier and NT$3.19 in the second quarter. Gross margin improved to 6.35 percent,
FAULTs BELOW: Asia is particularly susceptible to anything unfortunate happening to the AI industry, with tech companies hugely responsible for its market strength The sudden slump in Asia’s technology shares last week has jolted investors, serving as a stark reminder that the world-beating rally in artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor stocks might be nearing a short-term crest. The region’s sharpest decline since April — triggered by a tech-led sell-off on Wall Street — has refocused attention on cracks beneath the surface: the rally’s narrow breadth, heavy reliance on retail traders, and growing uncertainty around the timing of US Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts. Last week’s “sell-off is a reminder that Asia’s market structure is just more vulnerable,” Saxo Markets chief investment strategist Charu Chanana said in
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