23/08/2025

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BIZ & FINANCE SATURDAY | AUG 23, 2025

Shipping H20 chips to China not security concern: Huang

Trump to pick Airbnb co-founder to revamp US websites WASHINGTON DC: US President Donald Trump will appoint Airbnb co-founder Joe Gebbia to spearhead the new National Design Studio that will seek to make digital services at federal agencies more efficient, two officials familiar with the plan said. Trump signed an executive order on Thursday to create the studio – a new body that one of the officials said appears to be a stripped-down successor to the controversial Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), formerly headed by billionaire Elon Musk. Gebbia, who has led efforts to revamp the federal retirement process at the federal human resources agency, will be named chief design officer, the official said, adding that tackling problems at the Internal Revenue Service would be a focus. The sources were not authorised to speak on the matter and declined to be identified. The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether the National Design Studio is aimed at replacing DOGE. Gebbia did not respond to a request for comment on the appointment. DOGE sought to slash federal payrolls, shutter agencies and modernize government software, but public action from the agency has dwindled dramatically since Musk, once a key Trump adviser, left the government in May amid an acrimonious spat with the presi dent. According to Trump’s executive order, the National Design Studio will improve the “usability and aesthetics”of federal digital services. The studio will advise agencies on how to reduce duplicative design costs and use standardized design on sites where people interact with the government. The order also said that the studio will close in three years. It will be run by an administrator who will report to White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. It was not immediately clear who would fill that position. – Reuters

While Binance was founded in China, Zhao moved its operations to other locations internationally after a crackdown on the crypto sector by Beijing. Binance runs crypto exchanges and provides other services around the world, but it took a severe hit when crypto markets collapsed and regulators began probing the legality of its business. The firm has been accused in several countries of allowing criminal organisations to launder funds through its platform. Zhao pleaded guilty to violating US anti-money-laundering laws in late 2023, and served a four-month prison sentence for it in 2024. – AFP AI will reshape the global economy, and last month Nvidia — now the world’s most valuable company and a top designer of advanced AI chips — became the first firm in history to reach a market value of US$4 trillion (RM17 trillion). The firm has, however, become entangled in intensifying trade tensions between China and the US, as both countries wage a heated battle for dominance in designing and producing the advanced chips that power AI. It comes as the Trump administration continues to impose stiff tariffs, aimed at tackling US trade imbalances, reshoring manufacturing, and pressuring foreign governments to adjust their economic policies. A 100% tariff on a broad range of semiconductor imports came into effect this month, marking one of the most aggressive trade measures to date, though exemptions were carved out for technology firms that announce significant new investments in the US. – AFP

external auditors. General manager of Binance Australia and New Zealand Matt Poblocki said in a statement that the company had “engaged openly and transparently with AUSTRAC over the past several months”. “We remain committed to maintaining best-in-class compliance standards and will continuously enhance our capabilities,“ Poblocki added. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, was created in 2017. It has cornered much of the crypto-trading market, turning its co founder and former CEO Changpeng Zhao into a billionaire. Huang met with Trump at the White House this month and agreed to give the federal government the cut from its revenues, a highly unusual arrangement in the international tech trade, according to reports in the Financial Times, Bloomberg and The New York Times. Investors are betting heavily that last week. Instead, Huang expressed gratitude to the Trump administration for allowing the chips to be shipped to the Chinese market. “The demand I believe is quite great and so the ability to ship products to, H20s to China, is very much appreciated,” the CEO said. Huang also said Nvidia is in talks with the US government about a new chip for China. “Offering a new product to China for the data centre, AI data centres, the follow on to H20, that’s not our decision to make. It’s up to of course the US government, and we’re in dialogue with them but it’s too soon to know,” he said.

o Nvidia chief dismisses fears, saying downgraded processor has no backdoors and is safe

TAIPEI: Shipping Nvidia’s H20 chips to China was “great” for Beijing and Washington and not a security threat, the tech giant’s chief said yesterday. The California-based company produces some of the world’s most advanced semiconductors, but is barred from sending its most cutting edge chips to China amid Washington’s concerns they could be harnessed to boost Beijing’s military capabilities. Nvidia developed the H20 – a less powerful version of its AI processing units – specifically for export to China. That plan stalled when the Trump administration tightened export licensing requirements in April. The H20 was “not a national SYDNEY: Australia has ordered the local arm of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance to appoint an external auditor after identifying “serious concerns” with its money laundering and terrorism financing controls. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the country’s financial intelligence agency, said yesterday its concerns followed Binance Australia’s latest independent review which was “limited in scope relative to its size, business offerings and risks”. AUSTRAC also flagged the company’s high staff turnover, lack of local resourcing and senior management oversight, the agency

security concern”, Jensen Huang told reporters in Taipei, describing the chip as “great for America” and “great for the Chinese market”. Huang insisted there were “no security backdoors” in the H20 chip allowing remote access, after China summoned company representatives to discuss security issues. “We have made very clear and put to rest that H20 has no security backdoors, there are no such things, there never has, and so hopefully the response that we’ve given to the Chinese government will be sufficient,” Huang said.

He sidestepped a question about reports that Nvidia would pay the US 15% of its revenues from the sale of H20 chips to China, which US President Donald Trump confirmed Australia orders audit of crypto trading giant Binance

said in a statement. “AUSTRAC has directed Binance Australia to appoint an external auditor after identifying serious concerns with the crypto exchange’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing controls,“ it said. AUSTRAC’s CEO Brendan Thomas added that while businesses could have safeguards that apply to multiple jurisdictions, their systems needed to reflect local regulatory requirements. “This is a global company operating across borders in a high risk environment. We expect robust customer identification, due diligence and effective transaction monitoring,“ he said in the statement. Binance has 28 days to nominate

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