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Alibaba is one of the many companies that can be credited as the economic and technological symbol of China. But now, the immensely successful company co-founded by Jack Ma has come under scrutiny. The company is being investigated by the State Administration of Market Regulation of the country for monopolistic practices.
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Bloomberg reports that Ant Group, another company founded by Ma, has also called representatives to participate in meetings “designed to push for increasingly stringent financial regulations.” Although no details were provided on what the meeting or, indeed, the monopoly investigation entails.
Dong Ximiao, a researcher at the Zhongguancun Institute of Internet Finance, says this is an effort by the country to “reign in the empire of Jack Ma, symbolizing China’s new ‘too big to fail entities’. Dong also added that “the Chinese authorities want to see a smaller, less dominant and more compliant company.” Which is a bit strange when another massive conglomerate, Tencent, appears to be exempt.
Ultimately, this could be a retaliatory measure. Bloomberg notes that Ma has previously said in public that China’s regulators are falling behind the times. This immediately resulted in the suspension of Ant’s IPO. Ma has also not made a public appearance since. A Bloomberg source also said authorities had advised Ma not to leave the country.
(Source: Bloomberg)
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