Qualcomm seeks an end to antitrust probe

US chipmaker Qualcomm Inc is seeking to end an investigation by China's pricing regulator into monopoly practices, the company said over the weekend, expressing its willingness to improve and correct pricing issues according to the regulator.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in a statement released over the weekend on its website that its officials had met Thursday with a delegation from Qualcomm which included company president Derek Aberle.

"Qualcomm executives discussed with NDRC officials several topics in an effort to reach a comprehensive resolution," the company said in an e-mailed statement. "We are continuing to cooperate with the NDRC and cannot comment further."

The NDRC gave no further details.

Qualcomm's latest statement came after its avowal on August 14 that it had no direct financial links with an antitrust expert sacked from a government advisory post after State media reported he had received payments from the firm.

As part of the NDRC probe, Qualcomm hired Global Economics Group to produce an economic analysis for submission to the regulator, Christine Trimble, a spokeswoman at the chipset maker, told Reuters on August 14.

She said the Chicago-based consultancy employed Zhang Xinzhu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) and one of China's leading antitrust experts, to co-write the report.

Zhang was dismissed from the State Council's expert commission on competition issues for taking "huge rewards" from Qualcomm, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on August 13.

"Qualcomm paid Global Economics its standard rates for the firm's services," Trimble said, and did not have "any financial dealings" with Zhang directly.

The regulator is investigating Qualcomm's local subsidiary after it said in February the US chipmaker was suspected of overcharging and abusing its market position in wireless communication standards, allegations which could see it hit with record fines of more than $1 billion.

On July 24, Beijing-based newspaper Securities Times said the NDRC had determined that Qualcomm had a monopoly but did not say whether the regulator had determined that the company had abused this monopoly.

Qualcomm, one of the world's biggest mobile chipmakers, is one of at least 30 foreign firms to come under scrutiny as China seeks to enforce a 2008 anti-monopoly law.

Companies being investigated for antitrust issues include Microsoft Corp and automaker Volkswagen AG. The NDRC slapped a record $201 million fine on 12 Japanese automakers for price manipulation last week.