Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) being investigated in China may be an escalation of an incident that happened just a few months ago in the country, Megan Hughes discussed in a recent report on Bloomberg’s Street Smart.
As was earlier reported, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is being probed in the country for possible monopolistic practices. Hughes shed more detail on the topic by saying that the Chinese government agency which raided the offices of the Redmond, Washington-based giant is the State Administration for Industry and Commerce.
“Chinese regulators yesterday [seized] computers and documents from Microsoft offices. This was across four different cities in China. You had a hundred staff members from what is known as the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC). [A] statement on the agency’s website says that they are also investigating Microsoft executives that includes a vice president,” she said.
According to Hughes, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has issued a statement saying that the company “complies with the laws and regulations of every market in which we operate around the world…our business practices in China are designed to be compliant with Chinese law.”
As for the back story of this Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) issue in China, Hughes said that this may be an intensified step by the government of the country in relation to an event back in May.
“Back in May, the [Chinese] government excluded [Microsoft] from a government contract. State media reported at that time that part of the reason was concerns over internet safety. So obviously, this [is] an escalation from what we saw in May,” she explained.
The trouble for the Windows-maker comes as QUALCOMM, Inc. (NASDAQ:QCOM) was also recently in headlines for reportedly having difficulties in China with regards to collecting payments connected to their intellectual property.
Read: QUALCOMM, Inc. (QCOM) Facing Issues with Royalties in China
Watch the report about Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) below.
Disclosure: None
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