Microsoft sells MSN China operations

Beijing, Aug 31: US tech giant Microsoft has sold MSN China -- a Chinese edition of its global web portal -- to its local partner Xichuang Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd founded by the portal's top executive.

Microsoft said on its official blog that it had signed an agreement to sell MSN China, effective from September, reported Chinese website caixin.com.

The financial terms were not disclosed.

Xichuang Technology was co-founded late in 2015 by Liu Zhenyu, MSN China's former General Manager.

According to the report, Microsoft's MSN China portal never took off owing to government regulations and stiff competition from local rivals.

MSN China has strong rivals like Sina and Tencent but according to Microsoft, China is still one of its strategic markets.

"After selling off the unpopular unit, Microsoft will continue to invest in China in other businesses, including computing and cloud services," the statement said.