China’s regulators start anti-monopoly probe into Jack Ma’s Alibaba

The State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the country’s antitrust agency, announced in a statement that it is investigating Alibaba, without giving further details.

The Chinese tech titan confirmed that it has received a notification from SAMR about the probe. “Alibaba will actively cooperate with the regulators on the investigation. Company business operations remain normal,” the firm said.

Its affiliate Ant Group will be called to a separate meeting by regulators, which include China’s central bank and banking watchdog. In response, the fintech firm said it will “study and comply with all requirements.”

In November, Ant Group’s US$35 billion dual listing was halted after regulators said it failed to meet the listing qualifications or disclosure requirements. Shortly after that, SAMR released draft anti-monopoly regulations.

The draft rules are aimed at preventing monopolistic behavior by internet platforms. It may have an impact on ecommerce platforms such as Alibaba’s Taobao, JD.com, and Pinduoduo, online payment platforms like Tencent’s WeChat Pay, food delivery app Meituan-Dianping, as well as TikTok owner ByteDance.

See also: Recap 2020: A year of roadblocks for Chinese tech startups

Earlier this month, Alibaba and China Literature, Tencent’s e-book spinoff, were fined for failing to declare past acquisitions.

“Of all the regulatory hurdles, this is the biggest by a long shot,” said Mark Tanner, managing director of Shanghai-based consultancy China Skinny, to Bloomberg. “China has streamlined a lot of the bureaucracy, so it’s easier for the different regulatory bodies to work together now.”