In the news: Telecom Catalogue gets revised, Mogujie and Meilishuo merge and a Chinese hoverboard gets confiscated at CES 2016
January 13, 2016 | BY
Katherine JoThis week the new Classified Catalogue of Telecommunications Services was discussed, China's top fashion e-commerce sites combined and U.S. marshals raided a Chinese hoverboard booth at the Consumer Electronics Show
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued on December 28 2015 the Classified Catalogue of Telecommunications Services (2015 Edition), which will come into effect on March 1 2016. This was last revised in 2003 and any sector to be invested in must be provided for in the Catalogue. The new version has widened the scope of internet services and recategorized certain Type I and II value-added telecom businesses. The most commercially significant amendment is the expansion of internet information businesses to five sub-categories: search engines, publishing, community platforms, real-time information exchange and protection services. The MIIT has brought cloud services and software apps into its regulatory fold as well. But it is unlikely that this increases opportunities for foreign investors in practice. Telecom will always be a key sensitive and restricted industry, and any investment made in the areas listed in this Catalogue must also be in compliance with the myriad other laws that regulate the sector, including reporting, encryption and decryption, as well as data transfer and localization requirements.
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