26/09/2025

BIZ & FINANCE FRIDAY | SEPT 26, 2025

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

18

Apple pushes European Union to repeal tech rules

Britain’s Nothing to expand phone production in India NEW DELHI: London-based smartphone maker Nothing has signed a joint venture with Optiemus Infracom to expand manufacturing in India, the company said yesterday. Under the deal, Nothing and Optiemus will invest more than US$100 million (RM421 million) and create over 1,800 jobs in the world’s second-largest mobile phone manufacturer over the next three years, the company said, adding that it had already invested more than US$200 million in the country. It did not give details on where the facility would be located and its production capacity. Nothing, founded in 2020 by the Swedish entrepreneur Carl Pei, launched its first smartphone in 2022, and has since expanded into earbuds and other devices. In July, Pei said the company was the fastest-growing smartphone brand in India, with a more than two-fold year-over-year growth in shipments in the second quarter. Nothing has at least one other facility in Chennai, south India, that manufactures its smartphones, including the flagship Nothing Phone (3). Optiemus Infracom, based in north India’s Noida, is an electronics manufacturer for global smartphone brands like OnePlus and Realme. Nothing’s independent, affordable devices brand, CMF, will establish India as its global base for research, development, and manufacturing, Nothing said in a press release. The CMF Phone 2 Pro, priced at 15,999 rupees (RM760), costs significantly lower than the Nothing Phone (3) at 79,999 rupees. “CMF has been well received by the market since we launched it two years ago. With our end-to-end capabilities, we are uniquely positioned to now build it into India’s first truly global smartphone brand,” Pei said in a statement. Nothing, backed by singer The Weeknd and Google Ventures, recently raised US$200 million from investors. – Reuters Star Entertainment’s casino licence suspension deferred BRISBANE: Australian casino operator Star Entertainment Group said yesterday that the Queensland government had deferred the suspension of its Gold Coast casino licence to Sept 30, 2026. The cash-strapped casino operator said the government also extended the appointment of an external adviser for Star Brisbane until next September. The deferral comes after special manager Nicholas Weeks, who was appointed by regulators to oversee Gold Coast’s operations, submitted a report stating that Star has made “steady progress” on its remediation efforts, but it was slower than anticipated due to the group’s financial issues. Weeks’ appointment has also been extended to Sept 30 next year. Star has faced regulatory challenges since 2021, when authorities launched probes into potential breaches of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws. Since then, the company has struggled with mounting debt and weak patron spending, which has resulted in low cash reserves, driving it to explore asset sales. In August, the Australian firm revived a previously sidelined deal to sell a 50% stake in the A$3.6 billion (RM15.2 billion) Brisbane resort for A$53 million to its Hong Kong based partners. – Reuters

BRUSSELS: Apple urged the European Union on Wednesday to repeal the landmark Digital Markets Act (DMA), a sweeping set of rules designed to rein in the power of Big Tech firms, and introduce a new regulation that it considers more suitable. The request comes as the European Commission reviews the law, marking its first evaluation of the act’s effectiveness and its capacity to respond to emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence. The commission had invited stakeholder feedback until this week. The iPhone maker said EU users are experiencing delays in new features and facing increased privacy and security risks due to DMA. o iPhone maker says Digital Markets Act delaying features, raising user risks

Apple asked the commission to reassess how the law affects EU consumers who use its products, saying it will continue to work to deliver new features while meeting legal requirements. A European Commission spokesperson said on Wednesday that “gatekeepers, like Apple, must allow interoperability of third party devices with their operating systems”, reaffirming that compliance under the DMA is an obligation, not a choice. Apple said the law has forced it to postpone the rollout of several features in the EU, including iPhone mirroring to Mac and live translation with AirPods, citing engineering challenges. The company, which sells millions of its devices and services in the bloc, said location-based features in Maps have been postponed in the EU because the DMA requires it to make certain features work with non-Apple products or third-party developers. The iPhone maker said it has not found a way to comply with the bloc’s demands

without compromising user data and that its proposed safeguards were rejected by the European Commission. “It’s become clear that we can’t solve every problem the DMA creates,” Apple said. “Over time, it’s become clear that the DMA isn’t helping markets. It’s making it harder to do business in Europe.” In June, Apple changed rules and fees in its App Store in the EU to comply with the bloc’s antitrust order. The DMA, which came into force last year, requires large tech firms to open up their platforms to competitors. Apple said this has led to a “riskier, less intuitive” app experience for EU users, with sideloading and alternative marketplaces introducing threats such as scams, malware and pornography apps that were previously banned on its store. Donald Trump’s administration has consistently criticised the DMA, while the commission has firmly rebutted the US president ’s statement. – Reuters

China and EU leaders stress cooperation NEW YORK: China’s Premier Li Qiang and European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen stressed cooperation during their meeting in New York, as the world’s No. 2 and No. 3 economies looked to defuse trade tensions while squeezed by US President Donald Trump’s tariffs. EU brandy, dairy, pork and other goods. But with Trump’s trade policy squeezing both Chinese and European exports, Beijing and Brussels have had reason to seek a rapprochement. Von der Leyen meeting with Trump during the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York. – REUTERSPIC

which sets trade policy for the 27-strong bloc, has struggled to form a consensus among the member states after 10 countries backed tariffs on Chinese EVs last October, 12 abstained and five opposed, including Germany, Europe’s biggest economy. China has also become more central to Europe’s strategic calculus on the war in Ukraine, diplomats say, with many viewing Xi Jinping’s leverage over Vladimir Putin and Beijing’s role as Russia’s economic lifeline as a more plausible path to peace than Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy. Von der Leyen said she had asked “China to use its influence to bring an end to the killing and encourage Russia to go to the negotiating table”. The Chinese Foreign Ministry’s statement made no mention of the conflict on Europe’s border. “Time for diplomacy is now. It would send a strong signal to the world,” Von der Leyen concluded. – Reuters

Li said he hoped China and the EU could “uphold the original aspirations of establishing diplomatic relations”, a statement from China’s Foreign Ministry said yesterday, adding that “he also expressed hope that the EU will fulfill its commitment to maintaining open trade and investment markets”. “As two important poles in the world, China and the EU should demonstrate responsibility and maintain strategic independence,” the statement added. Chinese trade officials have struggled to negotiate with Washington and Brussels simultaneously, with foreign industry groups complaining of lengthy delays while bureaucrats work long hours on contentious issues such as rare earth export permits. Meanwhile, the European Commission,

Von der Leyen, in a statement on her X account after the meeting on Wednesday, said she had discussed trade matters with China’s No. 2 leader on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, and that she appreciated “China’s willingness to engage with us in a spirit of mutual understanding”. “Europe’s concerns regarding export controls, market access, and overcapacity are well-known,” she said. China and the EU have spent the past two years on the brink of a trade war, which most analysts trace back to the European Commission’s 2023 decision to open an anti-subsidy investigation into Chinese-made electric vehicles, setting off probes into