Chinese regulator fines Alibaba and Tencent under antitrust laws
Alibaba s Jack Ma today made his first public appearance in three months
The Chinese markets regulator has fined Alibaba and Tencent for a string of deals in its latest bid to clamp down on tech companies.
The State Administration for Market Regulation announced on Monday it had fined Alibaba, Tencent-backed China Literature and Shenzhen Hive Box Technology 500,000 yuan.
It comes after the regulator published draft regulations last month looking to curb tech monopolies, one of the most wide-sweeping proposals on Chinese tech.
The proposals include pricing, payment methods and use of data, as Beijing steps up its effort to control the growing influence of big tech.
The moves are in line with China’s “dual circulation” economic initiative as regulators try to prevent the internet giants from stifling competition and activities in China’s economy, says Winston Ma, formerly a managing director and head of the North American office of China’s sovereign-wealth fund, China Investment Corp., and co-author of
“The government’s current focus is to make SME (small and medium enterprises) to become more active and competitive, and to generate more domestic jobs as well,” he adds.
In trading on Monday, shares of Alibaba slipped 2.5%, to $257.96; shares of JD.com slipped almost 3%, to $80.15, and the