China’s market regulator recently fined 12 companies related to deal violation in anti-monopoly rules.
The companies included Baidu Inc, Tencent Holdings, Didi Chuxing, SoftBank and a ByteDance-backed firm, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said in a statement.
“The companies were fined 500,00 yuan (approximately USD 77,000) each for violating the rules of market concentration.”, SAMR said.
Tencent released a statement saying that, “it would actively rectify operations and provide the regulator with timely reports on deals in future.”
ByteDance said, “a joint venture between its affiliated firm and Shanghai Dongfang Newspaper Co Ltd, which were both fined, was never in operation and the JV was disbanded in January.”
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SoftBank, Baidu and Didi declined to comment.
China has stepped up the scrutiny of its internet giants in recent months, citing concerns over monopolistic behaviour and potential infringement of consumer rights.
Alibaba, Tencent-backed China Literature and other firms are also on a list for violating the anti-monopoly rules.
