Chinese tech giants like Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings were fined Saturday for failing to report corporate takeovers, which contributed to an anti-monopoly crackdown by the ruling Communist Party.
According to the state market regulator, the companies have not reported 43 acquisitions that up to eight years ago took place under the rules of “operating concentration”. Each violation was fined 500,000 yuan ($ 80,000), it said.
Beijing has launched antimonopoly, data security and other raids against tech companies since late 2020. The ruling party fears that companies have too much control over their industries and warns them not to use their dominance to criticize consumers or block the entry of new competitors.
Other companies fined in the recent penalty loop include online retailers JD.com Inc. and Suning Ltd. and search engine operator Baidu Inc. The acquisitions, dating back to 2013, included network technology, mapping and medical technology.
The companies have failed to explain the illegal implementation of the operational concentration, the supervisory authority announced on its website.
Alibaba, the world’s largest e-commerce company by volume, was fined $ 2.8 billion in April for regulators suppressing competition. Meituan, a food delivery platform, was fined $ 534 million on October 8.
