China on Monday launched an investigation into US chip giant Nvidia Corp for allegedly violating its anti-monopoly laws, state broadcaster CCTV said.
The State Administration for Market Regulation, the authority on antitrust issues, launched the probe "in accordance with the law," according to CCTV.
Nvidia is also suspected of violating commitments it made in 2020, when it acquired Mellanox Technologies Ltd, CCTV said.
Photo: Reuters
After Beijing announced the probe, shares in Nvidia dropped 2.6 percent by Wall Street's close yesterday, precipitating a US stocks retreat.
"We are happy to answer any questions regulators may have about our business," an Nvidia spokesman said in a statement.
Nvidia succeeds "on merit... and customers can choose whatever solution is best for them," the California-based company added.
Nvidia’s position as the leading provider of artificial intelligence (AI) chips has put it in the crossfire of the US-China battle of tech supremacy. Washington has barred the company from selling its most advanced semiconductors to Chinese companies — undermining their ability to develop AI services — which has drawn sharp rebukes from Beijing.
Nvidia has repeatedly tried to develop AI chips that will comply with US controls and give Chinese customers some ability to work on the critical new technology.
Beijing last week said it would restrict exports to the US of some key components in making semiconductors, after Washington announced curbs targeting China’s ability to make advanced chips.
Among the materials banned from export are metals gallium, antimony and germanium, Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a statement that cited "national security" concerns.
In its own latest curbs, Washington has announced restrictions on sales to 140 companies, including Chinese chip firms Piotech Inc (拓荊科技) and SiCarrier Technologies Co (新凱來), without additional permission.
The new US rules also include controls on two dozen types of chip-making equipment and three kinds of software tools for developing or producing semiconductors.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
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