China Launches Antitrust Probe into Qualcomm Over Undeclared Israel Autotalks Acquisition

By Selena Li HONG KONG (Reuters) -U.S. semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm admitted that it had not informed Chinese authorities when it completed its acquisition of Israel’s Autotalks in June, China’s market regulator said on Sunday. The disclosure was made two days after China launched an antitrust investigation into Qualcomm, examining whether the U.S. firm violated China’s antitrust law by not declaring some details of its acquisition of the Israeli chip designer. Qualcomm did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.  China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said it informed Qualcomm in March 2024 that the deal requires approval by the regulator, and the U.S. firm in the same month notified SAMR it wouldn’t pursue further. However, Qualcomm in June this year completed the deal without informing the authority, the regulator said, adding Qualcomm “acknowledged above facts”, based on which Beijing launched the antitrust probe. Qualcomm’s shares fell more than 5% on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to hike tariffs against China and cancel a planned meeting with President Xi Jinping. (Reporting by Selena Li) (The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)