Qualcomm facing prospect of record fine in China

Qualcomm is under an ongoing investigation by China's anti-trust regulator. [File photo]

China's anti-trust regulator is moving to conclude its 13-month antitrust investigation into the world's biggest cellphone chip maker Qualcomm, and has suggested a prospect of a record antitrust fine.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has said it suspects Qualcomm of overcharging and abusing its market position in wireless communication standards.

It has been suggested a final decision will include a record fine, as well as changes to how Qualcomm licenses its technology to handset makers in China.

Qualcomm is the top patent holder for cellphone technology, including many that form industry standards like CDMA and LTE.

Charging royalties based on the cellphones' selling prices, even those made with competitors' chips, provided more than half of its $8 billion net income last year.

China contributed approximately half of Qualcomm's total revenue in fiscal 2014.

The Chinese investigation is one of several Qualcomm has faced. The company was hit with a 20-million US dollar fine in South Korea in 2009 and was forced to renegotiate licensing agreements with Nokia and others by the European Commission in 2007.