Trump says 'very wealthy' group to buy TikTok
"We have a buyer for TikTok, by the way," Trump said in an interview on Fox's "Sunday Morning Futures" with Maria Bartiromo.
"Very wealthy people. It's a group of wealthy people," the president said, without revealing more, except to say he would make their identities known "in about two weeks."
The president also said he would likely need "China approval" for the sale, "and I think President Xi (Jinping) will probably do it."
TikTok is owned by China-based internet company ByteDance.
A federal law requiring TikTok's sale or ban on national security grounds was due to take effect the day before Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20.
But the Republican, whose 2024 election campaign relied heavily on social media and who has said he is fond of TikTok, put the ban on pause.
In mid-June Trump extended a deadline for the popular video-sharing app by another 90 days to find a non-Chinese buyer or be banned in the United States.
Tech experts quickly described the TikTok kerfuffle as a symbol of the heated US-China tech rivalry.
While Trump had long supported a ban or divestment, he reversed his position and vowed to defend the platform -- which boasts almost two billion global users -- after coming to believe it helped him win young voters' support in the November election.
"I have a little warm spot in my heart for TikTok," Trump told NBC News in early May.
"If it needs an extension, I would be willing to give it an extension."
Now after two extensions pushed the deadline to June 19, Trump has extended it for a third time.
He said in May that a group of purchasers was ready to pay ByteDance "a lot of money" for TikTok's US operations.
The previous month he said China would have agreed to a deal on the sale of TikTok if it were not for a dispute over Trump's tariffs on Beijing.
ByteDance has confirmed talks with the US government, saying key matters needed to be resolved and that any deal would be "subject to approval under Chinese law."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
4 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul shares fall on profit taking amid tariff woes
South Korean stocks finished lower Wednesday as investors moved to take profits from recent gains amid concerns about the United States' tariff scheme. The local currency fell against the US dollar. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index shed 14.59 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 3,075.06, ending a two-day winning streak. Trade volume was moderate at 691.15 million shares worth 14.59 trillion won ($10.73 billion), with winners beating losers 451 to 433. Foreign investors sold a net 335.04 billion won worth of stocks, while individuals and institutions net purchased 250.38 billion won and 79.21 billion won, respectively. The index opened lower and fell by nearly 2 percent at one point, as investor sentiment was dampened by news that US President Donald Trump threatened to raise tariffs on Japan to as high as 35 percent, upping the ante with just a week remaining before the negotiation deadline on his aggressive tariff scheme. "Trump's remark that he's not considering an extension of the reciprocal tariff pause suggests that discord may continue through next week's deadline, prompting investors to lock in profits," said Kim Ji-won, a researcher at KB Securities. Overnight, US shares closed mixed, as an unexpected rise in job openings dimmed the outlook for the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts. Also affecting investor sentiment was that Trump threatened to withdraw government subsidies from Tesla and other companies of Elon Musk, as well as examine his immigration status, after Musk ratcheted up his criticism of Trump's tax and spending bill. Top cap shares finished mixed. Market bellwether Samsung Electronics rose 1 percent to 60,800 won, while chip giant SK hynix sank 2.28 percent to 279,000 won. Major battery maker LG Energy Solution surged 1.68 percent to 302,500 won, and No. 1 steelmaker POSCO Holdings spiked 4.35 percent to 288,000 won. Leading biotech firm Samsung Biologics advanced 0.6 percent to 1,009,000 won, and top financial firm KB Financial surged 2.44 percent to 113,500 won. But nuclear power plant manufacturer Doosan Enerbility shed 1.44 percent to 61,600 won, and defense giant Hanwha Aerospace decreased 2.38 percent to 819,000 won. Carmakers gathered ground. Top carmaker Hyundai Motor surged 1.67 percent to 213,500 won, and its sister Kia Motors gained 1.32 percent to 100,000 won. But top online portal operator Naver retreated 3.82 percent to 252,000 won, and Kakao, the operator of the country's dominant mobile messenger, dipped 2.33 percent to 58,700 won. The local currency was quoted at 1,350 won against the greenback at 3:30 p.m., down 2.8 won from the previous session. (Yonhap)
Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Seoul carefully weighs Beijing's invitation to 80th WWII commemoration
Invitation tests Lee's pragmatic diplomacy at sensitive time for Seoul, observers say Seoul has been carefully weighing whether President Lee Jae Myung will attend China's Sept. 3 commemoration marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, as Beijing publicly expressed that Lee would be welcome to participate. Beijing has recently floated the possibility of Lee's participation through various channels, including not only official diplomatic avenues but also private meetings involving scholars, according to multiple sources. An official invitation from the Chinese government has not yet been delivered to the South Korean government, according to government sources. However, Seoul views Beijing's continued inquiries about Lee's willingness to attend — conveyed through diplomatic channels — as effectively constituting a de facto invitation, prompting careful deliberation over its response. The Chinese Embassy in Seoul also told The Korea Herald that 'China welcomes Korea's participation in this year's commemorative event" when asked about Beijing's invitation for President Lee. 'When the 70th anniversary ceremony was held, the attendance of the Korean leader at China's invitation had a positive effect,' the embassy added on Wednesday. Seoul and Beijing also discussed President Lee's potential participation in the Sept. 3 celebrations during director-general-level talks held in Seoul on Tuesday, The Korea Herald has learned from conversations with government sources. However, a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry in Seoul following the meeting did not mention whether the two sides discussed President Lee's potential attendance at the Sept. 3 commemorations. Kang Young-shin, director-general for Northeast and Central Asian affairs at the South Korean Foreign Ministry, met with Liu Jinsong, director-general of the Department of Asian Affairs at the Chinese Foreign Ministry, for the talks, the Foreign Ministry in Seoul announced Wednesday. 'Both the Korean and Chinese sides agreed to continue communication at all levels based on a shared understanding to develop Korea-China relations on the occasion of the APEC Summit in Gyeongju,' the ministry said in a statement. Seoul has high expectations for Xi's first visit to South Korea since July 2014, on the occasion of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. The APEC summit is scheduled to take place in the city of Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, from late October to early November. It marks South Korea's first time hosting the event in 20 years, since it was last held in Busan in 2005. President Lee has formally invited Xi to attend this year's APEC summit in South Korea during their first phone call in early June. Then-President Moon Jae-in visited China twice during his term — in December 2017 and December 2019, but Chinese President Xi Jinping did not make a return visit. Seoul views it as Xi's turn to reciprocate with a visit to South Korea. Observers note that the invitation comes at a diplomatically delicate time for Seoul and is likely to put President Lee Jae Myung's pragmatic diplomacy to the test. 'China seeks to achieve a quantum leap in Korea-China relations and to check the United States by reinforcing multilateralism in the Indo-Pacific region, through a reciprocal exchange — President Lee Jae Myung's attendance at the Sept. 3 celebrations in return for President Xi Jinping's attendance at the Gyeongju APEC Summit,' said Doo Jin-ho, director of the Eurasia Research Center at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. Doo said China regards this year's Victory Day on Sept. 3 and the 2025 APEC Summit in Gyeongju as major political events both domestically and internationally. 'With the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration, Beijing is seen as having high expectations of better Korea-China ties,' Doo said. 'With a Korea–US summit yet to take place, China's invitation to the Sept. 3 event puts the Lee administration's pragmatic diplomacy — including the Korea-US alliance and Seoul's relations with China and Russia — under early pressure,' he added. China marks Sept. 3 as Victory Day, commemorating its victory in the Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 to 1945, which it regards as part of World War II. The date follows Japan's formal surrender on Sept. 2, 1945. In particular, socialist countries tend to hold major commemorative events on milestone anniversaries that fall in five- or 10-year increments. In a previous similar case, South Korean President Park Geun-hye attended the ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II on Sept. 3, 2015, held at Tiananmen Square in Beijing. However, Park's presence sparked significant controversy at home over whether it was appropriate and raised concerns in the United States, as most Western leaders — including those from the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan — declined to attend, citing political and historical sensitivities.
Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Samsung bets on Nvidia to reclaim HBM lead
Vice chair's Silicon Valley visit fuels hopes for Samsung's HBM3E supply to GPU giant Samsung Electronics Vice Chair Jun Young-hyun, who oversees the company's semiconductor business, has traveled to the US to meet with Nvidia, fueling expectations that Samsung could narrow the gap with competitors and win new orders for high bandwidth memory chips. According to industry sources on Wednesday, Jun visited Nvidia last week to discuss the supply of Samsung's fifth-generation HBM3E 12-layer products for the GPU maker's Blackwell Ultra GB300, as well as their foundry partnership. This visit to Silicon Valley came less than two months after a similar trip in early May. HBM chips are critical components that enhance the performance of AI processors. While smaller rivals like SK hynix and US-based Micron Technology have already supplied their latest HBM3E 12-layer chips to Nvidia — the largest customer for the advanced memory products — and secured a boost in earnings in the process, Samsung has struggled to pass qualification tests and has fallen behind. After a yearlong delay, Samsung redesigned its latest chip in the second quarter and is now pushing to supply the renewed version. The chipmaker recently delivered HBM3E 12-layer chips for AMD's next-generation MI350X AI accelerators, easing market doubts about its product quality. This has raised anticipation that Samsung could secure Nvidia's certification in the second half of the year. During the visit, Jun also reportedly discussed with Nvidia its next-generation HBM4 chips, which are expected to see market adoption next year. For the sixth-generation HBM4, Samsung plans to become the industry's first to adopt 1c DRAM technology, aimed to gain a competitive edge. SK hynix and Micron Technology already shipped their respective HBM4 samples to key customers in March and June, respectively. Their products reportedly use DRAM chips built on the older 1b process. "For new markets such as HBM4 and custom HBM chips, we will proceed with development and mass production according to the plan, without repeating last year's mistakes," Jun said at the company's shareholders meeting in March. Beyond memory chips, Samsung is seeking to secure contract manufacturing orders from Nvidia. Currently, the Korean chip giant produces Nvidia Tegra T239 chips for Nintendo's next-generation Switch 2 console, using its 8-nanometer process. The Switch 2 has been a commercial success, selling more than 3.5 million units within just four days of its launch in June, which is expected to help improve earnings for Samsung's foundry business. Samsung is now seeking to win orders for Nvidia's next-generation graphic process units using its cutting-edge 2nm gate-all-around process, which is scheduled for mass production by the end of this year. The GAA process is a transistor architecture first developed by Samsung, offering better power efficiency and performance than the widely used FinFET designs. Samsung began mass production of its 3nm GAA process in 2022, but initially struggled with yield rates, making it difficult to attract customers. The company has since improved 3nm yields and is now working to raise yields for its upcoming 2nm process. If Samsung can win Nvidia's high-volume GPU orders, it could significantly improve its financial results and strengthen its competitiveness in the AI chip market. "Securing Nvidia as a customer is critical to leading the next-generation HBM market," an industry official said. "As Samsung continues to report progress in overcoming the semiconductor downturn, its chances of expanding partnerships with major tech players are growing."
