Amazon.com is selling off the hardware from its public cloud business in China, amid tightening regulation over online data that is creating a hurdle for technology firms operating in the world’s second-largest economy.
Beijing Sinnet Technology, Amazon’s China partner, said in a filing late on Monday that it would buy the US firm’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud computing unit in China for up to 2 billion yuan (US$301.2 million).
“In order to comply with Chinese law, AWS sold certain physical infrastructure assets to Sinnet,” an AWS spokesman said on Tuesday, November 14, adding AWS would still own the intellectual property for its services worldwide.
“We’re excited about the significant business we have in China and its growth potential.”
Chinese regulators are tightening rules on foreign data and cloud services, implementing new surveillance measures and increasing scrutiny of cross-border data transfers. Laws that came into effect in June require firms to store data locally.
“This move is mostly around regulatory compliance,” said Charlie Dai, Beijing-based analyst at Forrester Research. He added the move was necessary for AWS to build up its other business areas in the market.
Full Content: Wall Street Journal
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