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China has reportedly warned local companies it will tighten oversight of data security and overseas listings days after unveiling Didi has been subject to a government cybersecurity review. The State Council on Tuesday issued a statement indicating that it would crack down on the corporate sector across a range of areas, spanning from anti-trust to cybersecurity to fintech, Bloombergsaid in a report. As part of the statement, China reportedly said rules for local companies listing overseas would be revised and publicly-traded firms would be held accountable for keeping their data secure. China also reportedly said it would step up its regulatory oversight of companies trading in offshore markets. China’s lawmakers have already commenced its crackdown, having passed new data security laws last month to strengthen the government’s control over digital information. The newly passed laws provide a broad framework for future rules on internet services, such as how certain types of data must be stored and handled locally.   The warning comes days after Didi was removed from app stores in China for breaching regulations relating to the collection and use of personal data, which occurred shortly after the company made its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Beyond Didi, other Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent have come under government scrutiny in recent months, with Alibaba being hit with a record 18.2 billion yuan fine. 33 other mobile apps have also been called out by Beijing for collecting more user data than deemed necessary when offering services. With government oversight intensifying in China, tech companies, including Apple, Facebook, Google, and Twitter, have jointly warned that they could stop offering their services in Hong Kong if the government goes ahead with plans to amend privacy and doxxing laws. The laws, if amended, would put the staff of companies at risk of being imprisoned while making digital platforms vulnerable to criminal investigations for doxxing posts made by the platforms’ users. The laws in question were proposed by Hong Kong’s Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau in May as it said doxxing needed to be addressed due to it being prevalent against government members seeking to introduce an amendment Bill on extradition that led to the 2019 Hong Kong protests. On the same day of China’s warning of increased tech oversight, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director Zhao Lijian reportedly told local media that China would “not allow any country to reap benefits from doing business with China while groundlessly accusing and smearing China”. While not mentioning Australia by name, Zhao said a “certain country” has been acting as a “cat’s paw for others” and that there are consequences associated with that, when asked about Australia’s loss of market share in China’s agricultural market. RELATED COVERAGE source

NEC Australia has reported after-tax profit for the 2021 financial year came in just shy of AU$18.4 million for the 2021 financial year, exceeding the year prior by nearly AU$7 million. Total revenue for the 12 months was AU$377.6 million, down from last year’s AU$417 million. Of that, managed services accounted for more than half, coming in at AU$237 million. This was followed by sales of goods including hardware, software, enterprise network solutions, network infrastructure, system devices, and lighting equipment, which earned the company AU$68 million during the financial year. The remainder was other services and professional services.   The Australian arm of the Japanese conglomerate took nearly AU$442 million from customers, slightly lower than the AU$475 million during the 2020 financial year. Payments to suppliers were also lower and resulted in a total of AU$384 million, versus AU$406 million last year. NEC said while the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak “adversely impacted” revenue compared to the prior year, it was able to maintain gross margins through cost management and control, and reducing sales and general administration costs. Administration expenses were reduced by AU$708,000 to AU$5.61 million, and corporate services costs were down by nearly AU$5 million to AU$6.3 million. Other expenses, such as leasing, were reduced to AU$63,000, compared to AU$2.86 million last year, while maintenance expenses came in at AU$927,000, which was significantly less than the AU$2.52 million paid last year. NEC Australia added “there was a concerted effort taken by management to optimise the profitability of contracts through extensive monitoring and reduction of its cost base without impacting on customer delivery standards”. During the 2021 financial year, NEC recorded an income tax benefit of AU$8.28 million, which was due to AU$8.08 million in deferred taxes. While NEC Australia did not disclose the number of employees, the company dedicated AU$150 million towards employee salaries and wages, approximately AU$8 million lower than last year. Looking ahead, NEC Australia said it will continue to “refine” its operations and offerings, as well as introduce new solutions. “The next financial year will focus on the pursuit of opportunities related to new customers, development of the smart transport business stream and digital transformation solutions, as well as the renewal of current contracts,” the company stated. “The ongoing focus of the group is to continue to pursue additional revenue growth opportunities, closely manage costs of sales, and administrative expenses.” NEC Australia is 100% owned by Japan-based NEC Corporation, which is the parent entity and ultimate controlling entity. Since March 2019, NEC Australia has reported directly to NEC Corporation.  On Monday, NEC Corporation launched its 5G transport transformation services with the establishment of its centres of excellence in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa, and Latin America regions. The company also recently signed an agreement with Star Alliance and SITA that would eventually enable Star Alliance customers to use their biometric identity as their boarding pass with participating airlines at participating airports. The biometric platform will be built using NEC I:Delight platform, which will be connected to SITA’s airport infrastructure that already exists at more than 460 airports worldwide. Related Coverage source

While a lot of trade shows went on hiatus during the pandemic, one event, for press, kept rolling merrily along: Holiday Spectacular, a one-day affair that is usually held multiple times throughout the year in Manhattan. The show, where one can kick the tires on curious and intriguing new techno gadgets, continued as s virtual-only event, minus the hors d’oeuvres and spirits. (Unless you are bringing your own at your home office). This week, on Thursday, Holiday Spectacular was back again in virtual fashion. It’s not the same without being actually in front of the card tables with a plate of nibbles in hand, but it is a welcome bit of familiar gadget fun. Brands large and small at holiday spectacular Each of thirty vendors had a dedicated Web page, featuring a YouTube or Vimeo commercial, a link to press materials, and contact info, and a button to enter a live Zoom session with the vendor. In general, it felt well thought out and made it easy to survey the offerings. Vendors ranged from the very large names that have been mainstays at Holiday Spectacular, such as Philips and Lenovo, to startups such as Mode, Level, and Tranquility. Here’s a rundown of some of the novel items on display: Mintal’s Mintal Eye Massager: a pair of goggles that provide “15-minute relaxation journey by blocking out light, which signals to the body that it is time to rest, and playing soothing sleep sounds to promote quality sleep.” The company says it is developing a family of wellness products using AI. The Massager will be on sale for a limited time on Amazon and Mintal’s Web site for $69.99 before going up to the regular price of $149.99. Mintal Eye Massager, part of a family of wellness products from Mintal using “AI” Mintal Pozio Cradle and Shield Listening Blockers: To shut up Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant from responding to wake words, the Shield sits on top of smart speakers such as Amazon’s Alexa or “most major smart speakers on the market,” and prevents them from hearing conversations via  “state-of-the-art, proprietary technology” that the company says “can’t be hacked, and they can’t communicate with the cloud because they’re not connected to the internet.” The same for the company’s Cradle for smartphones. One phrase, “Pozio Stop,” temporarily shuts off blocking to allow one to use the smart speaker, after which blocking resumes within 30 seconds. Shield priced at $119 or $129 depending on size, Cradle priced at $129 and up depending on features. Sign up from the company’s Website for the Kickstarter campaign starting later this month. Pozio’s Shield will make Alexa and other smart speakers deaf to your cries. Pozio Neato Robotics’s D10, D9 and D8 robotic vacuum cleaners: step aside Rumba, the Neato machines boast things such as HEPA filtersand “the latest LaserSmartTM LIDAR-based technology. The company has recently added the capability for the device to respond to voice commands from Google Assistant and Alex, and in future promises to be the first “the first robotic vacuum to add support for Siri Shortcuts.” Starting at $399, available from the Neato Website. Neato Robotics’s robotic vacuum cleaners with LiDAR are the closest thing we’ll probably get to self-driving vehicles anytime soon.   Neato Robotics Origin Wireless‘s Hex Home smart security system: Easy-to-install home security monitoring uses WiFi signals to detect motion in the home and alert home-owners. Advertises easy set-up by plugging devices into AC power, connecting to WiFi, and downloading the app. Pricing starts at $199.99, available on the Hex micro-site. Origin Wireless‘s Hex Home smart security system claims you’ll never have to hassle installing home security again. Origina Wireless American Textile Company’s Tranquility Knit Weighted Blanket: A 12-pound blanket, measuring 48″ by 72″, “applies deep calming pressure across the body,” and uses what the company calls an “open knit” structure of polyester strands that “promote airflow” to keep a person cool better than other weighted blankets. The blankest can be therapeutic, says the company, “to calm and comfort people who have trouble sleeping, including those with conditions such as stress, anxiety, autism, ADHD, and PTSD.” Priced at $9.99 for the basic model, the blanket is available at Walmart and Target, or the company’s Web site. Other models range in price with a variety of different features.  American Textile Company’s Tranquility Knit Weighted Blanket has been airflow and other features that weighted blankets tend to lack, and “calm and comfort people who have trouble sleeping, including those with conditions such as stress, anxiety, autism, ADHD, and PTSD.” American Textile Company Hubble Connected’s Nursery Pal Premium, Hubble Dream+, and Nursery Pal Dual Vision: The latest in baby tech. The Pal Premium plays lullabies and tells stories from the camera unit while giving parents a touch-screen monitor. The Dream+ consists of a sleep mat, sensor and camera that transmit data on heart rate, breathing rate and sleep quality and connect to a HubbleClub cloud app. The Dual Vision baby monitor uses a dual-lens system to see the baby’s room from multiple angles at the same time. Coming to retail at Buy Buy Baby and Walmart, or on the Hubble Connected site, starting at $79.99. Hubble Connected’s Nursery Pal Dual Vision gets not one but two different angles on your sleeping child.  Hubble Connected TP-Link Deco AX6600 Whole-home Mesh WiFi 6 system: Uses intelligent algorithms to “achieve seamless whole home coverage with a clearer and stronger whole home Wi-Fi up to 6,000 sq. ft. while eliminate dead zones and buffering,” the company says. Phone app lets one set up the network with “clear visual guidance” that “keeps you in control even when you aren’t home.” Enhanced control over home user access to the network. Available at Best Buy, Amazon or Micro Center, from the company’s Website, for $399.99 for a dual-unit pack. The TP-Link DECO AX6600 Wifi 6 mesh router promises to catch all the dead spots in your home and give you greater control over user access.  TP-Link Level Home Level Lock: Electronic door lock that is billed

Image: Getty Images The SoftBank-owned Z Holdings has agreed to take the licensing rights of Yahoo in Japan from Verizon Media’s hands for ¥178.5 billion. The agreement comes shortly after Verizon announced it was selling its media arm for $5 billion to private equity firm Apollo Global, which includes AOL and Yahoo.  While Yahoo has struggled to stay relevant in Western markets, the brand is a core part of Z Holdings, which owns SoftBank’s various internet businesses in Japan and earned pre-tax profit of ¥848 billion in the past fiscal year. Z Holdings, a joint venture between Softbank and Naver, is the parent company of internet businesses Yahoo Japan, Yahoo Shopping, ZOZO, Japan Net Bank, and messaging platform Line. Despite owning Yahoo Japan, the company had to pay ongoing royalties to Verizon Media in order to use Yahoo’s brand, licensed technologies, and other licensed materials. With the ¥178.5 billion deal, Z Holdings will acquire the trademark rights related to Yahoo and Yahoo Japan in Japan, paid-up perpetual right to use existing licensed technology in Japan, as well as Yahoo branding and technology in Japan. The transaction will be finalised when the Apollo-Verizon Media is officially processed, Z Holdings said in a statement. Z Holdings added Yahoo Japan and Verizon Media would continue to retain their cooperative business and technology relationship post-transaction. For the 2020 fiscal year, SoftBank reported net profit of ¥4.99 trillion, which was a sharp turnaround from the ¥961 billion loss it recorded in 2019. The primary reason for SoftBank’s turnaround was the ¥4.03 trillion profit from its Vision Fund unit, which was a ¥5.4 trillion improvement from FY2019 when the Vision Fund unit lost ¥1.4 trillion due to various investments across consumer, real estate, and transportation underperforming that year. Related Coverage source

Jio Platforms’ Q2 net profit grew almost 25% year-on-year to ₹3,728 crore, around $502 million, with the company saying customer demand is slowly returning to pre-COVID levels. “As the pandemic retreats, I am pleased that Reliance has posted a strong performance in 2Q FY22. This demonstrates the inherent strengths of our businesses and the robust recovery of the Indian and global economies. All our businesses reflect growth over pre-COVID levels,” Reliance Industries chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani said. The holding company for India’s biggest telco, Reliance Jio, also reported gross revenue was ₹23,222 crore, $3.1 billion, which is around 15% higher than last year’s performance. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 16.6% to ₹9,294 crore, or $1.3 billion. As of the end of September, Jio Platforms said it has just shy of 430 million users. Of that customer base, almost 23.8 million are new users. The monthly average revenue per user during the quarter was ₹143.60 per subscriber, with total data traffic increasing by almost 51% to reach 23 billion GB and voice minutes increasing by 17.6% to 1.09 trillion minutes. On a per-user basis, this translates to monthly data usage of 17.6 GB and 840 minutes. Jio Platforms added that JioFiber now has over 4 million connected premises, with Jio’s optical-fibre network now physically present outside of 16 million premises. In providing its Q2 financial results, Jio Platforms said the JioPhone, which it is working to create alongside Google, is still set to be released during Diwali. The JioPhone’s release date was originally set to be launched earlier, but the company said last month it was facing semiconductor supply issues.  Related Coverage source

Temporary COVID-19 clinic in New Delhi.  Image: Getty Images All social media platforms have been asked by the Indian government to take down any content that refers to an “Indian variant” of coronavirus, according to a letter published over the weekend. In the letter, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said the World Health Organization has not associated the term “Indian Variant” with the B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus in any of its reports.  The B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus gained the “Indian variant” label when online content claimed it was originated from there. Last month, the UK Science Media Centre said usage of the “India variant” label should be avoided as it is difficult to confirm definitively where the variant first arose. “[Social media platforms] are requested to remove all the content that names, refers to, or implies ‘Indian variant’ of coronavirus from your platform immediately,” the information technology ministry wrote in the letter. The letter is a follow-up to another written by MeitY earlier this month, which ordered social media platforms to inform users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update, or share any information that may mislead the Indian public in any way. In that initial letter, MeitY urged platforms to initiate awareness campaigns for users to not upload or circulate any false news concerning coronavirus that would likely create panic among the Indian population. At the same time, the Indian government has also been ordering social media platforms to take down posts that are critical of its handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Last month, Twitter was ordered to take down dozens of tweets that criticised the government’s handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Twitter said it complied with those orders as failure to do so could result in the imprisonment of Twitter employees. At the time of writing, India’s COVID-19 tally continues to skyrocket, with over 26.5 million confirmed cases in the country. In the past 24 hours alone, there were 240,000 new reported cases.  Related Coverage source

Image: Getty Images SoftBank has reported net profit of ¥4.99 trillion for the year ended March, marking a sharp turnaround from the ¥961 billion loss recorded in the year prior. The primary reason for the turnaround was the ¥4.03 trillion profit from its Vision Fund unit, which was a ¥5.4 trillion improvement from FY2019 when the Vision Fund unit lost ¥1.4 trillion due to various investments across consumer, real estate, and transportation underperforming that year. According to SoftBank, the ¥4.03 trillion profit was the Vision Fund unit’s strongest annual performance ever. The strong performance during FY2020 largely came off the back of gains from the recently-listed Coupang and DoorDash, which provided unrealised valuation gains amounting to $25.3 billion and $7.6 billion, respectively. During the full-year results presentation, SoftBank CEO and chairman Masayoshi Son reused the “golden goose” motif mentioned during the third-quarter presentation when saying SoftBank would need similar results from other unlisted companies in the Vision fund portfolio if it is to maintain the same profit trajectory.  “We call ourselves an investment company. We don’t do any gambling or focus on one-time gains from market rallies — that’s not what we are looking for. We like to be looking at continuous gains through AI for new technologies,” Son said during the results presentation. In addition, SoftBank also separately announced it was tripling the size of its Vision Fund 2, from $10 billion from $30 billion. SoftBank Corp, the conglomerate’s telco, also improved its performance from the year prior, increasing its net sales by 7% year-on-year to ¥848 billion. This led to a 4% year-on-year jump in the segment’s total income, which rose to ¥848 billion. During the year, SoftBank Corp also saw its mobile subscriber base grow by 3% to 47.2 million while its broadband services gained 300,000 more customers. Meanwhile, SoftBank’s soon-to-be-sold chip segment, Arm, posted a ¥33.9 billion loss. This is despite Arm’s net sales, increasing by 6% year-on-year to ¥210 billion, which comprised of $1.28 billion in technology royalty revenue and $702 million in non-royalty revenue. The loss was mainly due to charges that arose from increases being made to the share-based remuneration of Arm employees following the agreement for SoftBank to sell Arm to Nvidia. The $40 billion sale is still pending as the UK’s competition regulator is currently in the midst of an investigation into the deal. Providing comment on the pending sale, Son said he remained “hopeful” that the transaction will close while adding an Arm IPO could be in the cards if the deal cannot be completed. During the full year to March 2021, SoftBank also earned ¥422 billion through selling two-thirds of its T-Mobile shares and ¥601 billion on equity method investments from Alibaba. At the same time, SoftBank lost ¥477 billion from prepaid forward contracts that used Alibaba shares, the company said. Related Coverage source

The manufacturing of transport equipment fell by a striking 16.5%, which was due to the shortage of microchips that power the electronics that make up most modern-day cars.     Image: Monty Rakusen / Getty Images The impact of the global shortage of chips is starting to have a direct impact on economic growth: new figures show that the UK’s GDP is stumbling, in part driven by cuts in the manufacturing of products that require semiconductors.  The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published its latest measures of economic activity in the country, which show that GDP has grown by 0.8% in May 2021 – a boost mostly linked to the lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions, but which doesn’t compare well to previous months, when the economy grew by up to 2.4%.  While many indicators seem to be in the green, with accommodation and food service activities growing by more than 37%, the manufacturing of transport equipment fell by a striking 16.5%, which the ONS said was due to the shortage of microchips that power the electronics that make up most modern-day cars.   This falls in line with a report published earlier by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which showed that this May, car makers in the UK produced less than half the number of vehicles than they did at the same time before the pandemic.  SEE: Hiring Kit: Computer Hardware Engineer (TechRepublic Premium) Automotive companies have been struggling to get their hands on semiconductors for a few months now. The COVID-19 pandemic, in effect, drove up demand for electronic products like PCs and tablets that require large numbers of chips, and the handful of major semiconductor manufacturers that most companies rely on for supply have rapidly run out of sufficient capability to meet such heightened demand.  At the same time, the pandemic shut down vehicle factory lines, as governments implemented strict stay-at-home rules, meaning that car makers canceled their semiconductor orders. Now that production has picked up again, therefore, automotive companies are finding themselves at the end of the queue for new chips, far behind higher-paying consumer electronics producers, and are facing huge lead times for the components they need to manufacture cars.  The issue is not UK-specific. Claus Vistesen, chief Eurozone economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, explains that the trend has been spreading across most developed economies. “In the automotive sector, at least in Europe, which is one of the areas where it is most prevalent, there is a big wedge that is driven between strong new orders and weak production,” Vistesen tells ZDNet. “It suggests that automakers simply don’t have the supply in key components they need for their products.”  Leading car manufacturers in the UK and across the globe have drawn attention to the problem in their latest earnings reports. Jaguar Land Rover, for instance, highlighted a strong recovery in demand for vehicles that has been thwarted by a “difficult” shortage of semiconductors, which the company reckons will result on wholesale volumes about 50% lower than planned.  The firm previously had to temporarily shut down its two main car factories in the UK because of the lack of components, and was promptly followed by BMW, which suspended production at its Oxford Mini plant for three days.  Daimler has also acknowledged that the shortage of semiconductor components is affecting global deliveries, and expects the issues to continue to impact sales in the next two quarters. Volkswagen, for its part, anticipates that the bottleneck in semiconductors will affect the company in the second half of 2021.  Circumstances specific to the automotive industry mean that the sector has been particularly hardly hit, but economists forecast that the shortage is set to expand to many more products – and not only in transport.   “Transport equipment today, whether it is trains, cars, planes, or defense and security equipment, includes very technical software that requires semiconductors,” says Vistesen. “In that respect, all kinds of high-end, high-value added manufacturing equipment could be hit by this, especially in the transport sector but also increasingly in industries like medical equipment.”  And in consumer electronics, manufacturers are also preparing for delays in the production of items ranging from smart home equipment to basic household appliances like microwaves and refrigerators.  It is hard to tell when the supply of semiconductors will be sufficient to meet demand again. Vistesen expects the shortage to continue throughout the next two quarters, and some experts even believe that the crisis won’t subside before well into 2022.  Ramping up the production of semiconductors seems to be the most obvious solution, and major chip manufacturers are already investing to expand their capacity. Governments, too, are making pledges to increase the supply of components, with the Biden administration, for instance, committing a hefty $52 billion to boost chip making.  Despite those huge investments, chucking money at the semiconductor manufacturing industry is unlikely to resolve the immediate problem anytime soon. Building chip factories is a complex, time-consuming task – and new builds shouldn’t be expected to start producing at least for the next two years.  “You can’t snap your fingers and increase manufacturing,” says Vistesen. “We have to assume it will be harder than we expect and it will take longer.”   And as buying semiconductors gets ever-harder, Vistesen expects that companies will start hoarding the precious components to secure their supply chain. This could create a vicious circle in which access to chips is even more constrained, and although the trend, for now, is mostly anecdotal, the economist anticipates that it could aggravate the issue even further. For the automotive industry, therefore, the next few months are set to become even more challenging.  source

Lawmakers in Beijing have enacted laws banning people from complying with foreign sanctions against China. The new laws were passed against the backdrop of the US and EU continuing to prohibit companies from working with Chinese companies due to issues ranging from human rights, military, and technology. Passage of the new legislation means that multinational companies with any presence in China must now navigate China’s sanctions along with those that have been issued by Western countries. The new laws provide Beijing with powers to target companies involved in implementing foreign sanctions by seizing their assets, prohibiting or restricting transactions, and denying or cancelling visas. The ban extends to company employees as well, and even the spouses and immediate family members of certain individuals who are on the newly created “counter control” list that was enacted as part of the laws. On the same day, China’s lawmakers also passed new data security laws that strengthen the government’s control over digital information. Although the full text of the newly passed laws has not been released yet, the laws will provide a broad framework for future rules on internet services, such as how certain types of data must be stored and handled locally. Since the new year, Beijing has been cracking down on how tech companies operate, which has led to Alibaba being fined $2.7 billion, Ant Group becoming a financial holding company that is overseen by China’s central bank as part of efforts to appease regulatory concerns, and 33 mobile apps being called out for more user data than it deemed necessary when offering services. China’s internet regulator, the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), in March also released regulations that prohibit mobile app developers from refusing to offer basic services to consumers who did not want to provide personal data that were unnecessary for the provision of such services. Related Coverage source

On Friday, the US International Trade Commission (ITC) issued a preliminary ruling in a patent dispute between Sonos and Google, finding Google infringed upon five valid patents belonging to the smaller audio company.  Sonos first filed suit against Google in the federal court system in January 2020. Sonos said Friday’s ruling is the first milestone in what’s sure to be a lengthy legal dispute.  “Today, the [Administrative Law Judge] has found all five of Sonos’ asserted patents to be valid and that Google infringes on all five patents,” Sonos Chief Legal Officer Eddie Lazarus said in a statement provided to ZDNet. “We are pleased the ITC has confirmed Google’s blatant infringement of Sonos’ patented inventions. This decision re-affirms the strength and breadth of our portfolio, marking  a promising milestone in our long-term pursuit to defend our innovation against misappropriation by Big Tech monopolies.” Specifically, an ITC judge ruled that Google violated the Tariff Act of 1930 when it imported to the US and sold certain audio players and controllers, as well as their respective components. Sonos has asked the ITC to issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders against Google.  Sonos was a pioneer in networked audio, but its speakers have been overshadowed by the Google Home and Amazon Echo in recent years. Google and Amazon were able to offer their smart speakers for a fraction of the cost of a Sonos speaker, flooding the market with devices as a means of bringing customers into their respective digital ecosystems.  In addition to complaining to the ITC, Sonos also filed suit against Google in a federal district court last year, and its CEO Patrick Spence testified against Google before a US House antitrust subcommittee.  Google, meanwhile, countersued Sonos last year. source