The company is selling “certain physical infrastructure assets” of its Amazon Web Services (AWS) public cloud computing unit in China to Beijing’s Sinnet Technology Company for $301 million, reports CNBC. The move comes in response to tougher Chinese laws that require foreign firms to store data in the country. However, in a statement to TechCrunch, Amazon made clear that it still owned the intellectual property rights for AWS in China–and worldwide:
No, AWS did not sell its business in China and remains fully committed to ensuring Chinese customers continue to receive AWS’s industry leading cloud services. Chinese law forbids non-Chinese companies from owning or operating certain technology for the provision of cloud services. As a result, in order to comply with Chinese law, AWS sold certain physical infrastructure assets to Sinnet, its longtime Chinese partner and AWS seller-of-record for its AWS China (Beijing) Region. AWS continues to own the intellectual property for AWS Services worldwide. We’re excited about the significant business we have in China and its growth potential over the next number of years.
Other foreign companies in the cloud services space such as IBM, Microsoft, and Oracle are expected to follow in Amazon’s footsteps in order to maintain regulatory compliance in China.
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