China Roundup: Regulator fines Alibaba, others for undisclosed deals, and other news

Regulator fines Alibaba, JD.com, others for undisclosed deals

• The major companies allegedly did not disclose 43 deals, which are viewed as violations of China’s antitrust legislation.
• Other companies involved in the cases include Baidu and Geely, among others.
• the companies were fined roughly US$78,000 each – the maximum penalty under the country’s 2008 antimonopoly law.

Bilibili snaps up animation company in $94m deal

• Bilibili, known as the YouTube of China, has acquired comics and animation platform U17 from local animation studio Alpha Group.
• U17 said it has over 32 million users who consume its original comics and animation content.
• Additionally, Bilibili has launched 51 new animated titles in a bid to make Chinese animation more known locally and globally.