NetEase (HKG:9999) will close down one of its public cloud computing services effective April 7, citing a "business strategy adjustment," the South China Morning Post reported Friday, citing a message seen by the newspaper.

The closure of 163yun.com comes as the internet company faces intense competition, especially in the artificial intelligence sector, according to the report, citing analysts.

Clients who have unused credits may get refunds upon request, the report said.

NetEase is calling on customers with existing accounts to migrate their information to other platforms, the report said.

The domain now redirects customers to Shufan, the company's big data business, the report said.

"We have arranged a dedicated team to communicate with existing users to mitigate the impact on them," the SCMP quoted a NetEase representative as saying.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)