Qualcomm Inc

[CityFarmer]

I started a new thread on Qualcomm. The company is having a bad time now...

Qualcomm sees more China trouble, faces probes in U.S., Europe

SAN FRANCISCO - Qualcomm Inc warned on Wednesday that an antitrust investigation and problems collecting royalties could harm its business in China next year and it also disclosed new regulatory investigations in the United States and Europe.

China's expanding high-speed 4G network is driving demand for smartphones with leading-edge technology, but Qualcomm's opportunities have been clouded by an 11-month-old antitrust investigation there.

Wall Street is worried. Qualcomm could face a fine of more than $1 billion in China as a result of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) investigation, and the company could be forced to make concessions that would hurt its highly profitable business of charging royalties on phones that use its patents.

Qualcomm also said it faces a new probe by the European Commission about rebates and other financial incentives in the sale of its chips. Another preliminary investigation by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission concerns a potential breach of licensing terms, the company said.

On Wednesday, Qualcomm's shares slid about 6 percent at $72.50 in extended trading from a $77.20 close on the Nasdaq
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/qual...obe-weighs

[Greenrookie]

Qualcomm is also one of Venture's customers. ?

[CityFarmer]

Qualcomm should be able to settle the China nightmare soon...

China Premier says Qualcomm's 'opportunities greater than challenges'

BEIJING - Qualcomm Inc's opportunities in China will be far greater than its challenges, Premier Li Keqiang said Thursday as the U.S. mobile chipmaker prepares to face a potentially record-breaking fine for antimonopoly violations in the country.

Li's comments, made at the World Internet Conference, were the first by a senior Chinese leader since Qualcomm came under investigation by the anti-monopoly regulator, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), in November 2013.

The company has been in talks with the regulator, with a settlement expected soon.

Speaking at an event with Qualcomm Executive Chairman Paul Jacobs and other technology executives Thursday, Li said he believed Qualcomm could come to a solution with Chinese authorities but emphasized the need for a "level playing field" for tech companies in the Chinese market. REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/business/chin...challenges

[Tiggerbee]

Qualcomm is also one of Venture's customers. ?

No. Qualcomm is a fabless IC design firm. They outsource the manufacturing of their ICs to foundries like TSMC, UMC, SMIC and GLOBALFOUNDRIES. And uses test/assembly houses like STATS, Amkor and ASE.

[CityFarmer]

Let's see the outcome, after rounds of discussion, instead of investigation. A uniqueness of China jurisdiction...

China's antitrust regulator says Qualcomm case to be settled soon

BEIJING - The Chinese government said on Friday that it will soon settle its antitrust investigation of U.S. mobile chipmaker Qualcomm Inc.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's anti-monopoly regulator that launched its probe of the San Diego-based company 13 months ago, said the case would be settled according to the law, according to an online statement.

The notice cited Xu Kunlin, director general of NDRC's anti-monopoly bureau.

The NDRC also said it had completed its seventh round of discussions with Qualcomm President Derek Aberle and his team earlier this month.

The regulator said in February that the U.S. chipmaker was suspected of overcharging and abusing its market position in wireless communication standards.

An imminent decision in the case is expected to force the company to pay fines potentially exceeding $1 billion and require concessions that would hurt its highly profitable business of charging licensing fees on phone chipsets that use its patents.

(This story corrects title of Qualcomm's Aberle in paragraph 4 to president) REUTERS
http://www.todayonline.com/business/chin...ttled-soon

[CityFarmer]

How about those companies rely on patent licensing, e.g. ARM? ARM isn't violate the anti-competitive clauses, probably...

For Qualcomm, China settlement may be just the beginning

SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING - The settlement of China's anti-trust probe into Qualcomm Inc is likely to intensify global scrutiny of the firm's highly profitable patent licensing business, and may even call into question its worldwide contracts with smartphone makers such as Apple and Samsung.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) is moving to wrap up its 13-month investigation into the U.S. chipmaker as soon as possible, the regulator said in a statement on Friday, bringing to an end one of the most high profile of a slew of such investigations by Beijing into western firms.

Any deal is likely to include a record-breaking fine, as well as changes to how Qualcomm licenses its technology to handset makers in China, according to industry sources and local press reports.

That could weaken the firm's prized technology-licensing business across the global smartphone industry by increasing pressure from regulators in other countries. Anti-trust probes in Europe and by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) may be related to China's investigation, Qualcomm has said.

"It's not an overstatement to say they're under attack," said Thomas Cotter, a patent expert and professor at the University of Minnesota Law School. "Nobody knows how it will play out but the fact that there is an FTC investigation tells you something."

Qualcomm declined to comment.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/business/qual...-beginning

[yeokiwi]

Qualcomm is both producing chips and licensing patents to other companies to build communication chips.
ARM does not sell any chip and is only depending on licensing of IPs.

So, Qualcomm is an easier target to get into antitrust probes.

[CityFarmer]

It is definitely a very bad news to Qualcomm...

Samsung said to drop Qualcomm chip from next Galaxy smartphone

SEOUL (Jan 21): Samsung Electronics will use its own microprocessors in the next version of the Galaxy S smartphone, dropping its use of a Qualcomm chip that overheated during the Korean company’s testing, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone maker, tested a new version of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon chip, known as the 810, and decided not to use it, the people said, asking not to be identified because the issue hasn’t been discussed publicly.

The decision is a blow to Qualcomm, the world’s largest maker of semiconductors used in phones, which has been supplying Samsung with chips that run the company’s best-selling handsets.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...smartphone

[CityFarmer]

Finally settled and move-on...

Qualcomm to pay S$1.32b to resolve China anti-trust dispute

SAN FRANCISCO/BEIJING — Qualcomm Inc has agreed to pay a fine of US$975 million (S$1.32 billion), the largest in China’s corporate history, ending a 14-month government investigation into anti-competitive practices.

The deal also requires Qualcomm to lower its royalty rates on patents used in China, which probably helps local smartphone makers such as Xiaomi Technology Co and Huawei Technologies Co.

Qualcomm said the agreement removes a major source of concern for its investors, sending shares of the San Diego-based chipmaker up 2.8 per cent to US$69 in after-hours trading.
...
http://www.todayonline.com/tech/qualcomm...st-dispute

[CityFarmer]

Qualcomm isn't out of the woods yet...

South Korea antitrust body said to be investigating Qualcomm

SEOUL (Feb 12): South Korea's Fair Trade Commission is investigating Qualcomm, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, adding to antitrust woes for the US chipmaker following a record fine it agreed to pay in China.

The person, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, declined to elaborate further.

South Korea's Maeil Business newspaper, without citing direct sources, reported that the commission will look into whether Qualcomm is abusing its dominant market position.

As part of its investigation, the commission plans to send inquiries to domestic smartphone makers such as Samsung Electronics as well as Qualcomm competitors like Intel Corp, the newspaper said.
...
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/sg/article...g-qualcomm