Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd. signs the front of the New York Stock Exchange on November 11, 2015.
Brendan McDermott | Reuters
GUANGZHOU, China – China’s market regulator Alibaba and Tencent have been fined for failing to make formal announcements to authorities about past acquisitions, another sign that Beijing is taking a tough stance on technology companies.
Alibaba, Tencent-backed Chinese literature, and Shenzhen hive box technology were fined 500,000 yuan ($ 76,463) each by the state administration for market regulation (SAMR).
Although the fines are small, SAMR’s action further signals from Chinese regulators to punish and regulate technology companies, many of which have grown largely unaccounted for over the past few years and have transformed themselves into important parts of everyday life in China.
Last month, SAMR released draft rules seeking to end monopolies by Internet sites. It is also one of China’s largest plans to regulate large technology companies.
SAMR issues, including department store operator Intime, China Literature’s acquisition of new classic media and Hivebox China Post Smart Logistics’ acquisition of controlling stake in Alibaba.
However, none of the acquisitions, according to SAMR, restrict or eliminate competition. Instead, fines are levied on companies that do not properly submit the documents required by current monopoly laws.
In a follow-up report published online, SAMR stated that the site “is not illegal under anti-monopoly law” in a comment that China’s Internet companies continue to monitor.
At 2:09 pm Hong Kong time, shares of Tencent and Alibaba in Hong Kong were down about 2.9%.