China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) issues rules relating to China’s long-discussed “unreliable entities” list. MOFCOM tells foreign companies not to worry about unreliable entities list as it is not targeted at any specific country or company. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation is preparing to launch an antitrust investigation into Google relating to Google’s alleged abuse of the Android mobile operating system’s dominant position. MOFCOM, China’s National Bureau of Statistics, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issue report showing Chinese outward foreign direct investment (FDI) fell 4.3 percent year-over-year in 2019. Chinese outward FDI (OFDI) in the United States (US) plummets to record lows because of Covid-19 and US-China political frictions. Indian Minister says there will be no blanket ban on all Chinese mobile apps, nor will Chinese companies be excluded from 5G contracts for wireless equipment. The tightening of US restrictions on the export of semiconductors will have potent adverse effects on Japanese companies. Frictions relating to the fees Apple takes in conjunction with its App stores have sparked regulatory attention in Japan. Covid-19 and the resignation of former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo are hindering the expansion of Japanese OFDI in Africa. Hitachi may terminate its multi-billion-dollar project in the United Kingdom (UK) to build two nuclear reactors because of a failure to obtain UK government support to cover rising project costs. Korean semiconductor firms will suffer big loss of business due to new US restrictions on the export of semiconductors to Huawei. Korea Fair Trade Commission apparently sends signal to Google that it is being watched for its app store fee collection practices. Korea’s Hyundai Engineering & Construction led consortium wins $573 million railway project in the Philippines.
