China clampdown on foreign-owned internet companies rumoured to be imminent

[mandy]

China could block the operations of some of the internet's biggest names in an apparent bid to take more control of the net economy. Yahoo!, eBay and Google all operate in China.

Foreign companies must already allow Chinese investors to own 50% of all ventures in the country, and the Government has begun to make announcements hinting that it will further restrict trade.

A state-owned newspaper reported that a clampdown on foreign-owned internet companies was imminent and that some foreign companies could be stripped of existing operating licences. Regulators told the paper that unauthorised foreign investors are using shared or borrowed licences to operate, against the rules...

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