Chinese government has de-supported 33 domain name extensions (source:west.cn) as it seems to be the respective registries has failed to complete the required proces to get the final approval from chinese government. Shocked to see .IN is in the list , you can see the further details from the screenshots taken from West.cn website (Translated into English).
P.s: In the above screenshots its showing as 20th July 2011, its a typo on west.cn announcement. kindly read it as 20th July 2017
What it means to a chinese domain name registars?
- Loss of business / growth opportunities
- Loss of customers
What it means to registries whose domain name extensions are unsupported?
- Loss of business / growth opportunities
- Loss of customers
- Reputational Risk
- It’s the time to reconsider to get the final approval
What it means to chinese businesses already operating on these unsupported extensions domain names?
Althouh something not easy to assess based on the above announcement , I believe they can continue to operate on these domain name extensions. Only the restrictions are applied to the new registrations.
What it means domain name investors who has invested into the domain name assets?
Not a good news for sure , certainly there will be a tangible impact on asset values specially those extensions which has wider presence in China such as .cc , .co ..etc . .IN is not a popular extension in China, so not much impact for .IN.
Domain investors from china can continue to register these extensions without any issue from overseas registars as the restriction is only applicable to chinese domain name registars.
Who is the biggest looser of all these?
Chinese Government , this is the stupid approach to certify the reputed extensions such as .org , .IN , .co and .cc , they are there in top 25 domain name extensions of the earth, there is a minimum practical approach to be followed here. Too much regulations of this nature will only hurt China , hope they will wake up and stop this stupidity forever.