Andre Yoskowitz
9 Feb 2015 16:17
The world's largest chipmaker is preparing to end an anti-trust investigation brought by the Chinese government against it over a year go following 'significant' progress made between the two parties.
Qualcomm is preparing to pay $1 billion to end the dispute, which had claimed uncompetitive practices in the nation, and will likely reduce their royalty rates by a third on patents used in China.
The fine would be the largest ever paid by a company in China.
China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said "The NDRC will soon release a new antitrust settlement. Qualcomm will be fined several times the total amount the NDRC fined last year."
Qualcomm gets half of its revenue from China, and a lot of its profits from high margin royalties from licensing. The NDRC had been telling firms to delay signing new licensing agreements while the dispute was still open.
Source:
Reuters