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TAIPEI, TAIWAN — Chinese authorities approved 105 new online games this week, bolstering support for the industry just days after proposing regulatory restrictions that sent stocks tumbling.

The National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) announced approval of the 105 games Monday via WeChat, describing the move as a show of support for “the prosperity and healthy development of the online game industry.

“It was only Friday that those same regulators announced a wide range of proposed guidelines to ban online game companies from offering incentives for daily logins or purchases. Other proposed rules include limiting how much users can recharge and issuing warnings for “irrational consumption behavior.”

The draft rules, which were published as part of efforts to seek public comment on the proposals, caused an immediate, massive blow to the world’s biggest games market, leading to as much as $80 billion in market value being erased from China’s two biggest companies, industry leader Tencent Holdings and NetEase.

After the approval was announced Monday, video game stocks in companies such as NetEase began recovering from Friday’s tumble. China’s state-run CCTV said the approval “strongly demonstrates the clear attitude of the competent authorities to actively support the development of online games,” adding that most game companies are deeply encouraged.

Chinese netizens, however, aren’t optimistic.

“Isn’t it the daily work of the NPPA to [approve games] on a regular basis? Don’t make it look like [you’re doing the industry a favor]” said a commenter named “OldTimeBlues” on YYSTV, a Chinese media platform for online gaming.

Another commenter, named Mizu, described the back-to-back announcements as a proverbial carrot and stick tactic.

“You noticed your kid is [has] a concussion after [you’ve hit] him with a stick,” they said of Friday’s announcement of new guidelines. “Now you are giving him a [treat] to make him feel better.”

Syu Jhen, founder of the policy think tank Hong Kong Zhi Ming Institute, said that the draft rules would affect not only the stock prices of Tencent and NetEase but the entire online gaming industry, even if China’s economy relies on domestic consumption.

Syu said that Beijing’s “one-size-fits-all” regulation of online gaming shows that China’s economic decision-makers do not respect market rules and often resort to moral kidnapping, allowing the social value that officials want to encourage to override principles of economic development and business operations.

A comment on YYSTV said, “Thinking issuing an approval would boost market confidence? It’s completely scratching the surface.”

Chen Chung-hsing, director of the New Economy Policy Research Center at National Dong Hwa University, said that at a time when China’s economy is weak and sluggish, exports and investment can no longer boost China’s economy. China can only rely heavily on domestic consumption. He said if China continues to suppress the domestic online gaming industry, it may have economic consequences and cause public resentment.

“China’s current unemployment rate is so high that some people may need video games to kill time,” he told VOA in a phone interview. In this case, [the rules] are also [a kind of] deprivation. Then, after these people stop playing video games, what will happen? Don’t they think about other ways to express their dissatisfaction? So basically, [playing video games] is also a possible source of power for [social] stability.”

Tseng Wei-feng, an assistant researcher at the Institute of International Relations at National Chengchi University, said the reason why the Chinese government wants to restrict online games is that the games often have a “group-fighting” model, which has become a virtual platform for young people to gather. He said the government worries that players can be united and mobilized in the virtual world.

“A group of people may attack a city in a certain game, then evolve into a so-called organized force,” he said. “If one day they are dissatisfied with China’s policies, will they all go to the government gate to protest? I think this is an aspect that the Chinese Communist Party has been strictly controlling.”

Some information is from The Associated Press. 
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Jerusalem — Israel’s government agreed to give Intel a $3.2 billion grant for a new $25 billion chip plant it plans to build in southern Israel, both sides said on Tuesday, in what is the largest investment ever by a company in Israel. 

The news comes as Israel remains locked in a war with Palestinian militant group Hamas in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. It also is a big show of support by a major U.S. company and a substantial offer by Israel’s government at a time when Washington has increased pressure on Israel to take further steps to minimize civilian harm in Gaza. 

Shares of Intel, which has a bit less than 10% of its global workforce in Israel, opened up 2.73% at $49.28 on the Nasdaq stock exchange.  

The expansion plan for its Kiryat Gat site, where it has an existing chip plant 42 kilometers (26 miles) from Hamas-controlled Gaza, is an “important part of Intel’s efforts to foster a more resilient global supply chain, alongside the company’s ongoing and planned manufacturing investments in Europe and the United States,” Intel said in a statement. 

Under CEO Pat Gelsinger, Intel has invested billions in building factories across three continents to restore its dominance in chip-making and better compete with rivals AMD, Nvidia and Samsung. The new Israeli plant is the latest investment by the U.S. chipmaker in recent years. 

“Support from the Israel government will … ensure that Israel remains a global center of semiconductor technology and talent,” Intel vice president Daniel Benatar said. 

Intel had previously received around $2 billion over the past 50 years in Israeli grants in other facilities there. 

Ofir Yosefi, deputy director general of Israel’s Investments Authority, said Intel chose a higher grant and tax rate over an offer for a lower grant and lower tax rate. 

He told Reuters the process took months since a grant of such magnitude needed a review and independent analysis that it was economically viable. It was determined Israel would reap much higher fiscal and economic benefits, he added. 

“This investment, at a time when Israel wages war against utter wickedness, a war in which good must defeat evil, is an investment in the right and righteous values that spell progress for humanity,” Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said. 

Intel, whose investment will be over five years, will pay a corporate tax rate of 7.5% instead of 5% previously. The normal tax rate is 23%, but under Israel’s law to encourage investment in development areas, companies receive large benefits. 

In Germany, Intel plans to spend more than $33 billion to develop two chip-making plants in Magdeburg, as part of a multibillion-dollar investment drive across Europe to build chip capacity. Berlin has pledged big subsidies to attract Germany’s biggest-ever foreign investment.  

In 2022, Intel said it would invest up to $100 billion to build potentially the world’s largest chip-making complex in the U.S. state of Ohio, and rivals Samsung and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, also have announced big investment plans in the U.S. 

In addition to the grant that amounts to 12.8% of the total investment, the chipmaker also committed to buy $16.6 billion worth of goods and services from Israeli suppliers over the next decade, while the new facility is expected to create several thousand jobs. 

Intel, one of around 500 multinationals in Israel, established a presence there in 1974 and now operates four development and production sites, including its manufacturing plant in Kiryat Gat called Fab 28 that produces Intel 7 technology, or 10 nanometer chips, and employs nearly 12,000 people in the country while indirectly employing 42,000 more. 

At some $9 billion, Intel’s exports account for 5.5% of total high-tech exports. The Centrino chip, which enables the use of WiFi, and its Core processors were developed in Israel. 

Intel, which bought Israeli self-driving auto technologies firm Mobileye for $15.3 billion in 2017, declined to say what technology will be produced at the new Fab 38 plant. Intel says construction has already begun.  

In June, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Intel would build a new $25 billion chip plant in Israel, but Intel until now had declined to confirm the investment. 

The Fab 38 plant is due to open in 2028 and operate through 2035. 
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