“China’s top antitrust regulator said it has issued fines to companies including social media giant Tencent, ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing, and search engine Baidu over 10 investment deals in the internet sector that were in violation of the anti-monopoly law,” Technode reported.
Detail:
- A total of 12 companies including Alibaba, ByteDance, JD.com, and Meituan were each fined 500,000 yuan (US$77,000) for deals that breached China’s anti-monopoly law.
- Some the deals the State Administration for Market Regulation pulled up included Tencent’s 2018 investment in edtech firm Yuanfudao, Baidu’s 2014 acquisition of smart home equipment maker Ainemo, among others.
Context:
- China’s anti-monopoly law requires firms to report deals that could create a “market dominant player,” where a company might hold over 50% share of its relevant market.
- Earlier in December, China’s antitrust watchdog fined Alibaba and China Literature, Tencent’s e-book spinoff, for failing to declare past acquisitions.
