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As part of an anti-monopoly investigation, Microsoft offices in China were raided by the State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) last week. The raid evidently didn’t stop there. According to a Chinese anti-trust regulator, new raids were conducted on Microsoft and its partners this week.
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The SAIC raided US technology giant’s offices in Beijing, Liaoning, Fujian, and Hubei as well as Dalian offices of IT consultancy Accenture, a firm to whom Microsoft outsources financial work. “We’re serious about complying with China’s laws and committed to addressing SAIC’s questions and concerns,” a Beijing-based Microsoft spokeswoman said in an e-mailed statement.
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Chinese government believes that Microsoft is violating anti-monopoly law with its Windows operating system and Office suite. The government says that Microsoft’s products do not comply with the country’s rules on compatibility and document authentication. Because of that, the Chinese consumers are using more Microsoft products that they might otherwise be aware of, the local government said. Industry experts are still trying to figure how exactly Microsoft is violating anti-trust regulations.
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“We can confirm that, as required by Chinese laws, we are cooperating with investigators of the State Administration for Industry and Commerce and are helping provide them with certain information related to one of our clients,” Accenture Greater China said in an e-mailed statement.
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Microsoft has remained calm on this matter. The company said that it remains committed to addressing SAIC’s questions and concerns.
