SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s market regulator said on Monday it fined Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings-backed Chinese literature and Shenzhen Hivebox 500,000 yuan (6,664,464.29) for failing to properly report contracts for anti-trust reviews.
The State Regulatory Authority for Market Regulation (SAMR) said it made the decision after reviewing Alibaba’s deal with Intime Retail (Group) Co Ltd, China Literature’s new classic media acquisition, and China Post’s acquisition of Shenzhen Hive Box. Smart Logistics.
Among the supporters of Hive Box is logistics company SF Holding Co.
Shares of Tencent and Alibaba, listed in Hong Kong, fell in afternoon trade after the news broke, with Alibaba hitting a three-week low of 2.5% and a two-week low of 2.8%. The broader market fell half a percent.
China has promised to strengthen the oversight of its major technology companies, which over the years have been able to create monopolies that control competition and have the power to misuse consumer data and infringe on consumer rights.
Last month, Beijing unveiled draft rules aimed at curbing the monopoly behavior of Internet companies, which is seen as China’s first serious regulatory action.
SAMR warned in a separate statement that “the Internet industry is not outside the scope of anti-monopoly law” and stressed that all companies must strictly adhere to the laws and regulations and maintain fair market competition.
“The fines in all three cases are a signal that anti-monopoly oversight in the Internet sector will be strengthened,” S.A.M.R.
Alibaba invested $ 692 million in indie in 2014, leading to a $ 2.6 billion effort to privatize indie in 2017, which operated 29 department stores and 17 shopping malls in China.
China Literature announced in August 2018 that it was getting 100% new classic media.
($ 1 = 6.5390 Chinese Yuan)
Report by Brenda Ko in Shanghai, Cheng Leng and Joey Zhang in Beijing; Himani Sarkar Editing