Musings about Multinational Corporations

Mixup on Manus; keeping the Apple fresh; screeching tires, discharged EVs, and spinning turbines; Disconnecting Chinese chip sales, routers, telecoms, and more;

The show begins by discussing the turmoil surrounding Meta’s takeover of Manus AI, a deal China has rejected. It then shifts to Apple’s efforts to keep the situation in China peachy. Subsequently, it roams to the topic of the Italian government putting the brakes on Sinochem, the largest Pirelli shareholder, before shifting to BYD’s challenges in Brazil. Next, it travels to the United Kingdom, which has banned the use of Ming Yang wind turbines. The last segment covers the U.S. push to restrict the sale of chip-making equipment to China, block foreign router sales in the U.S., and hang up on on Chinese telecom companies as well as China's unwillingness to buy billions of high-end American AI chips.

The China chip sale rollercoaster, on and off the DoD naughty list, Nexperia's nightmare, TikTok travails, shifting Shein and Temu fortunes, and mapping out Korea's tech landscape

This episode begins on the roller coaster known as artificial intelligence chip sales to China, a ride full of stops and starts and ups and downs. It then turns to the off and on again and off again placement of Chinese companies on the United States (US) Department of Defense’s Naughty List. It next returns to the soap opera involving the Netherland’s Nexperia, its China subsidiary, and its Chinese owner Wingtech. Following this, it chronicles TikTok’s troubles around the world. It subsequently examines the latest news surrounding online platforms Shein and Temu. It closes by mapping out the latest developments in Korea pertaining to Google maps and other American high-tech companies.

Thirty Minutes of Tips from Top Talent: Mr. Ken Wilcox

This episode features Ken Wilcox, the author of The China Business Conundrum and former CEO of Silicon Valley Bank (2001-2011), CEO of SVB's China joint venture (2011-2015), and then Vice Chairman of SVB's JV (2015-2019). In this program, Ken touches upon issues like the China Playbook, identifying decision makers, gift giving, the US government as a backstop (or not), "leverage," and the prospects of the foreign financial industry in China.

Cashing In and Cashiering Chips; Nipping at Nexperia; Discharging Mergers, Software, and Batteries; Timed Out or Time Out for Tik Tok Deal; Groping for GROK

This show starts by covering the ups and downs associated with the sale of advanced Nvidia and AMD AI chips to Chinese firms. It then turns to the battle between Nexperia Netherlands and China's Wingtech over control and transborder operations. The fourth part details Washington’s squashing of a Chinese semiconductor acquisition, Beijing’s potential mashing of Meta’s acquisition of Manus, China’s sweeping ban of American and Israeli cybersecurity software companies , and American politician attempts to discharge Ford’s collaborations with CATL. We next turn to the supposed end of the TikTok divestiture. The episode concludes with coverage of Asian government efforts to reign in Grok, the X run AI chatbot.

TiKTok off the Dock? Flattening Chinese Platforms; Fab about Selling Chips and Chip Making Equipment; Crisis over East Asian Tech Regulation; Intelligence about AI Regulation

In this episode, we discuss the non-definitive definitive TikTok divestiture deal. We then examine challenges facing Chinese platforms such as Shein, Alibaba, and Baidu. Next, we track the continuing saga involving the sale of high-end chips and semiconductor making equipment by Nvidia and others to China. Following this, we delve into the regulatory travails confronting Google and Apple in countries like Korea. We conclude the podcast with a brief look at expanding moves to regulate various aspect of artificial intelligence.