Qualcomm is nearing the end of talks with the Chinese government over antitrust issues and is looking to cough up around $1 billion as soon as Monday. The issue arose over China's 2008 anti-monopoly law, and if negotiations are reached, we will see Qualcomm lower its royalty rates by about 33% on patents used in China. Half of Qualcomm's 26.5 revenue was earned in China last year, which means that the San Diego-based tech company will need to do whatever it takes to work out a deal with China.
The head of the NDRC's antitrust division, Xu Kunlin, is responsible for the tough repercussions toward Qualcomm, and he is coming under fire for being too harsh and unfair with his legal actions. Even President Barack Obama has been talking with the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, about the commercial friction. Critics are saying that Xu is targeting only foreign companies, which he denies, despite both Samsung and Microsoft seeing some scrutiny from the Antitrust office. Source: Re/Code
