Latest news with #GaoYuan
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Taiwan Probes China Chipmaker SMIC for Allegedly Poaching Staff
(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan is investigating whether China's leading chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. illegally poached local engineers as part of an effort to access the island's cutting-edge chip technology. Why Did the Government Declare War on My Adorable Tiny Truck? How SUVs Are Making Traffic Worse Trump Slashed International Aid. Geneva Is Feeling the Impact. These US Bridges Face High Risk of Catastrophic Ship Strikes Gold-Rush Fever Returns to Historic New Zealand Mining Town SMIC set up a branch in Taiwan posing as a Samoa-based company and tried to hire local talent, prosecutors from Taiwan's Investigation Bureau said Friday in a statement. Local investigators raided 34 locations and conducted 90 interrogations this month as part of a large-scale probe into 11 Chinese tech companies including SMIC, according to the bureau, which is part of the justice ministry. A SMIC representative did not respond to requests for comment. SMIC rose to global fame in 2023 when it worked with Huawei Technologies Co. to produce an advanced 7-nanometer chip despite facing a myriad of US-led curbs that continue to prevent China from securing the most advanced chipmaking equipment. However, the two companies now have hit a snag with technology development as they cannot secure ASML Holding NV's extreme ultraviolet lithography systems required to make the most cutting-edge chips. As China faces growing restrictions on its access to advanced foreign technologies, it has aggressively tried to obtain know-how in cutting-edge segments including semiconductors by ramping up efforts to recruit engineers from Taiwan and elsewhere. Taiwan has become a favorite talent farm for China as the two sides share the same language while the island boasts of the best chipmaking technologies in the world. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is the go-to chipmaker for Apple Inc. and Nvidia Corp., producing the majority of the world's AI accelerators. Taiwan does not allow Chinese companies to conduct business activities including hiring locally without formal government approval. However, there have been many cases of Chinese tech companies setting up operations in Taiwan and posing as foreign or local firms. The high pay offered by Chinese companies to lure away Taiwanese engineers has been a perennial story in local media. The investigation bureau said it has opened over 100 investigations into Chinese companies illegally hiring Taiwanese engineers since it formed a task force for such probes in 2020. --With assistance from Gao Yuan, Cindy Wang and Miaojung Lin. Business Schools Are Back Google Is Searching for an Answer to ChatGPT Israel Aims to Be the World's Arms Dealer A New 'China Shock' Is Destroying Jobs Around the World The Richest Americans Kept the Economy Booming. What Happens When They Stop Spending? ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore server fraud suspects granted bail as probe goes on
By: Gao Yuan and Josh Xiao (Bloomberg) — A Singapore judge granted bail for the three men suspected of defrauding suppliers of server computers potentially containing Nvidia Corp. chips subject to US export curbs. The two Singaporean men arrested last month got their bails set at S$800,000 ($600,000) and S$600,000, respectively, a judge ruled Thursday. The third man, a Chinese national, had his bail set at S$1 million. The next court hearing was scheduled for May 2. If they post bail and are allowed to leave the jail, the men mustn't go near airports or other border checkpoints, and they aren't allowed to discuss the case. The Chinese man must wear an electronic tag. The hearing focused on the bail procedure, shedding little new light on the broader investigation. The case centres on whether the trio played a role in misleading server suppliers, including by misrepresenting the actual end-user of the hardware. It is casting light on how advanced US chip technology subject to trade restrictions is channeled globally through regions such as Southeast Asia, and potentially finding its way to countries including China. The prosecution says the monetary value involved in the Singaporeans' case is about $250 million, and in the Chinese man's case about $140 million. Singaporean prosecutors initially charged the three men in late February. The city state's Law Minister K Shanmugam in March confirmed the servers were made by Dell Technologies Inc. and Super Micro Computer Inc. and they could contain Nvidia chips subject to US export controls. Authorities are trying to determine the final destination of the products after they've been shipped to Malaysia from Singapore, according to Shanmugam. More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
08-03-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Bonus Time at Singapore's DBS Puts CEO Transition Into Focus
Welcome to Singapore Edition. Each week we bring you insights into one of Asia's most dynamic economies. If you haven't yet, please sign up here. This week, finance reporter Chanyaporn Chanjaroen looks at how the pay package for DBS's departing CEO stacks up against global peers and Gao Yuan reports on a probe of high-end servers sent to Malaysia. Looking for a solid laksa that won't put a dent in your budget? Alfred Cang and Bernadette Toh check out a surprising option.
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore probes potential fraud in Nvidia AI chip shipments
By Gao Yuan and Mackenzie Hawkins (Bloomberg) – Singapore is probing whether Dell Technologies and Super Micro Computer servers shipped to Malaysia housed Nvidia chips barred from China, an investigation that highlights the role of middlemen in funnelling high-end semiconductors. The country's law minister on Monday outlined specifics of the probe after local media reported police arrested several people for their alleged roles in procuring and shipping Nvidia chips in violation of US sanctions. They stand accused of misleading server suppliers of the actual end users of the hardware, which were shipped from Singapore to Malaysia, Law Minister K Shanmugam told reporters. Authorities are now investigating if the servers, made by Dell and Super Micro, made their way to other countries, he said. The case is casting a spotlight on Singapore-based entities' role in channeling Nvidia chips to China and potentially other countries restricted by the US. The case comes weeks after Bloomberg News reported that the US was investigating whether Chinese artificial intelligence sensation DeepSeek had circumvented US chip curbs with help of third parties in Singapore. Singapore has requested further information from Malaysia and the US to determine the final destination of the servers, Shanmugam said. 'The question is whether Malaysia was a final destination or from Malaysia it went to somewhere else, which we do not know for certain at this point,' he said. A preliminary investigation found that the chips in those servers could potentially subject the devices to US export restrictions. 'We assessed that the servers may contain Nvidia chips,' Shanmugam said, stopping short of confirming that. Nvidia declined to comment, while Super Micro didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. In a statement, Dell said that it 'maintains a strict trade compliance program and screens all sales orders through its internal screening solution, which includes due diligence related to export and trade compliance.' 'If a customer is not adhering to these obligations, we take swift and appropriate action, up to and including termination of our relationship,' Dell said. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese buyers are getting around US export controls and obtaining the latest Nvidia AI processors by routing orders through third parties in nearby countries. The newspaper cited traders of electronics gear. Nvidia said it's looking into the issue, but maintained that trying to use such a channel wouldn't deliver fully operational systems. Anonymous traders 'cannot acquire, deliver, install, use and maintain' Nvidia's new Blackwell products in unauthorised countries, the company said in a statement. 'AI data centers are among the most complex systems in the world,' Nvidia said. 'Customers want systems with software, services, support and upgrades – none of which anonymous traders claiming to possess Blackwell systems can provide. We will continue to investigate every report of possible diversion and take appropriate action.' Nvidia relies on companies such as Dell, Super Micro and Hewlett Packard Enterprise to make the servers that house its coveted AI chips. Those companies then sell the servers either directly or through intermediaries to data center operators across the world. Super Micro and Dell were already among companies scrutinised for their potential role in how Nvidia chips subject to US export controls end up in China. Nvidia asked Super Micro and Dell to audit customers in Southeast Asia to verify that they still possess the Nvidia-powered servers they bought, the Information reported in December, citing a person close to the US Department of Commerce. Shanmugam didn't link the case directly to DeepSeek or any Chinese buyer because the investigation is still ongoing. He also said the case isn't tied directly to US export controls, saying the fraud investigation is an independent probe conducted by Singapore after receiving an anonymous tipoff, rather than a request from a sovereign country. Washington has for years been trying to crack down on China's ability to access restricted technology via third countries, most recently by expanding semiconductor trade curbs to cover most of the world. Those latest rules – which the Trump administration is currently reviewing – establish maximum thresholds for the AI computing power than can be exported to places from Southeast Asia to the Middle East, where US officials are worried about Beijing's influence. Early signs indicate that the Trump administration will intensify those efforts. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek evaded US export controls to build its R1 model and pledged a 'very strong' response. Trump officials are currently investigating whether DeepSeek managed to access advanced Nvidia chips via third parties in Singapore, Bloomberg has reported. A senior Singaporean official said last month that Nvidia chips that have been shipped to the country only accounted for less than 1% of the US giant's revenue, even though the Santa Clara, California-based firm billed more than a fifth of its sales to buyers in the city state. (Updates with company responses in seventh paragraph.) More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Singapore charges three after probe into Nvidia server fraud
By Gao Yuan and Philip J. Heijmans (Bloomberg) — Singaporean police charged three men for allegedly defrauding an unnamed supplier of computing servers, casting a spotlight on local intermediaries' role in funneling Nvidia Corp. chips around the world. The case centers on whether the trio played a role in misleading the server supplier, including by misrepresenting the actual end-user of the hardware, according to their charge sheets. Two Singaporean men, 41 and 49, were charged for criminal conspiracy to commit fraud, while a Chinese national, 51, was charged for committing a fraud. The case comes weeks after Bloomberg News reported that the US was investigating whether Chinese artificial intelligence sensation DeepSeek had circumvented US chip sanctions with help of third parties in Singapore. Local media including the broadcaster CNA reported that the arrests were linked to the shipment of Nvidia chips to China. The police didn't provide details on the products potentially involved, nor did they name the server computer supplier involved. The Chinese man was charged for making a false representation that a company named Luxuriate Your Life Pte 'would be the end-user of the items,' according to his charge sheet. Such offenses carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years in jail, the police said in a separate statement. The police have also made six other arrests related to its investigation. In total, the police are investigating 22 individuals and companies for suspected involvement in fraud by false representation. Singapore, which has close trade relations with both the US and China, has been caught in the middle of a tech war between the two superpowers. The Trump administration is probing whether Hangzhou-based DeepSeek bought advanced Nvidia chips through third parties in Singapore, by passing US export restrictions on sales of AI training chips to China. A senior Singaporean official said last week that Nvidia chips that have been shipped to the country only accounted for less than 1% of the US giant's revenue, even though the Santa Clara, California-based firm billed more than a fifth of its sales to buyers in the city state. More stories like this are available on ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
