Hong Kong (CNN) – China has launched an antitrust investigation into Alibaba as the country ramps up scrutiny of fast-growing internet companies.
The State Administration of Market Regulation, China’s largest market regulator, said on Thursday it would investigate alleged monopolistic behavior by “Alibaba”, the online shopping and cloud computing giant of Jack Ma’s company. The authority did not provide many details, but it said it would investigate the company’s practice of requiring dealers to sign agreements that prevent them from selling products on competing platforms, known as “choosing one of two”.
Separately, the People’s Bank of China announced that the country’s four financial regulators will call Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial subsidiary, to a meeting in the coming days. The central bank said in a statement that the meeting would direct “Ant Group” to implement financial supervision and organize its services.
The intense scrutiny comes just weeks after Chinese officials were forced to cancel the last-minute IPO of Ant Group, which would have been the largest listing on the world’s stock market.
Alibaba shares fell in Hong Kong, where they closed 8% lower in a brief trading session on Thursday. The stock has fallen 26% since its peak in late October, wiping more than $ 240 billion from Alibaba’s market value.
