Chinese Government Fines Alibaba and Tencent for Monopolistic Practices

China has stepped up its game of monopolistic practice scrutiny, fining Alibaba and Tencent. 

The State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) said it would fine Alibaba, Tencent-backed China Literature and Shenzhen Hive Box 500,000 yuan each, the maximum under a 2008 anti-monopoly law, for not reporting past deals properly for anti-trust reviews.

The body is also in process of investigating and slapping fines on other deals of similar character, based on information provided by other companies. 

"The fines of the cases are a signal to society that anti-monopoly supervision in the Internet field will be strengthened. The Internet industry is not outside the oversight of anti-monopoly law“, SAMR commented.

Hong Kong-listed shares of Alibaba and Tencent dropped 2.6% and 2.9%, respectively, seeing their worst day since the 30th of November.

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