Alibaba, Meituan paid 92% of China’s $3.5b antitrust fines in 2021

Tech giants Alibaba and Meituan together paid 92% of the US$3.5 billion in antitrust fines issued by China in 2021, reported the South China Morning Post, citing an annual report from the State Anti-Monopoly Bureau.

While Alibaba had been fined 18.2 billion yuan (US$2.7 billion) for monopolistic practices, Meituan shelled out 3.4 billion yuan (US$508 million) for similar conduct.

These two fines resulted in Chinese authorities collecting 23.6 billion yuan (US$3.5 billion) in 2021, over 50x the 450 million yuan (US$67.3 million) collected in 2020.

The fines follow antitrust investigations under the Chinese government’s regulatory crackdown on the country’s tech giants. Tencent, ByteDance, and Didi Global were also given fines for failing to report merger and acquisition deals for antitrust reviews.

The regulator will also be shifting its focus to restoring market confidence, a sign that the crackdown on the tech sector may come to an end. The Chinese government also met with executives from tech giants, assuring them that regulations will be predictable and transparent moving forward.

Currency converted from yuan to US dollar: US$1 = 6.69 yuan

See also: Alibaba U-turns on Jack Ma’s prophecy