China’s e-commerce titan Alibaba and finance behemoth Ant Group hit with antitrust probe

guest · Dec 24, 2020

China’s e-commerce titan Alibaba hit with antitrust probe
December 24, 2020
https://techcrunch.com/2020/12/23/alibaba-antitrust-probe/

China’s top market watchdog has begun a probe into Alibaba over alleged anti-competition practices at the e-commerce firm, the latest of Beijing’s efforts to curb the country’s ever-expanding internet titans.

The State Administration for Market Regulation said Thursday in a brief statement that it is investigating Alibaba over its “choosing one from two” policy, in which merchants are forced to sell exclusively on Alibaba and skip rivaling platforms JD.com and Pinduoduo.

“Today, Alibaba Group has received notification from the State Administration for Market Regulation that an investigation has been initiated into the Company pursuant to the Anti-Monopoly Law. Alibaba will actively cooperate with the regulators on the investigation,” Alibaba said in a statement.
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Some argue that the clampdown is a long time coming for China’s internet giants, which have been allowed to grow under a relatively loose regulatory environment. The Alibaba case is a “significant step” in China’s anti-monopolistic regulations on the internet industry, said an opinion piece published in the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party.
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guest · Dec 25, 2020

China launches antitrust probe into Alibaba and Ant Group for "picking one from two" strategy
China's competition landscape is changing
December 25, 2020
https://www.techspot.com/news/88083-china-launches-antitrust-probe-alibaba-ant-group-picking.html

The big picture: The future looked bright ahead for Alibaba only months ago, with its share price climbing steadily amid the pandemic. However, in a first for China, the State Administration for Market Regulation has started an antitrust investigation into Alibaba and sister company Ant Group, signaling an end to the hands-on approach typically practiced by the Chinese government.

The Chinese government announced it has started an antitrust investigation into Alibaba, the country's largest tech company, which extends to sister company of Ant Group that was recently targeting an IPO at a valuation of $37 billion.
Last month, regulators suspended Ant Group's initial public offering just two days before shares were to begin trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong, in a move that is part of an ongoing crackdown on anticompetitive behavior in the country's booming tech sector.
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Both Alibaba and Ant Group said they would "comply with all regulatory requirements," and reassured investors that there's been no impact on normal day to day operations. However, if the two companies are found to be guilty of monopolistic behavior, they could be fined up to 10 percent of their annual revenue.

State-run local paper People's Daily wrote in an editorial that the investigation "is an important step in strengthening antimonopoly oversight in the internet sphere. [...] This will be beneficial to regulating an orderly sector and promoting the long-term healthy development of platforms."
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guest · Dec 28, 2020

Alibaba Probe Stirs Global Worry on What’s Next for Chinese Tech
Probe coincides with a clampdown on part-owned Ant Group
December 28, 2020
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...an-to-10-billion-from-6-billion?sref=gni836kR

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. led a second day of frenetic selling among China’s largest tech firms, driven by fears that antitrust scrutiny will spread beyond Jack Ma’s internet empire and engulf the country’s most powerful corporations.

“It is very hard to predict the outcome of the Chinese government’s ongoing investigation into Alibaba and other large consumer internet platforms,” Baird analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a note.

Once hailed as the standard-bearers of China’s economic and technological ascendancy, Alibaba and its compatriots now face increasing pressure from regulators worried about the speed with which they’re amassing clout in sensitive arenas such as media and education and gaining influence over the daily lives of hundreds of millions.

“There is still very big selling pressure on firms like Alibaba, Tencent or Meituan. These companies have been growing at a pace deemed by Beijing as too fast and have scales that are too big.”
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stapp · Apr 10, 2021

The world's biggest online retailer - China's Alibaba - has been hit with a record fine equivalent to $2.75bn (just over £2bn).
Regulators in China said the internet giant had abused its dominant market position for several years.
In a statement the company said it accepted the ruling and would "ensure its compliance".
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56701765

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China’s e-commerce titan Alibaba and finance behemoth Ant Group hit with antitrust probe

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