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CHRISTMAS CELIS
Chinese authorities have launched an investigation into online giant Alibaba for possible violations of competition law. The company is suspected of monopolistic practices, the market regulation authority announced Thursday. According to Chinese state media, the authority also wants to hold talks with Ant, Alibaba’s financial arm, as part of its oversight. The group’s share price collapsed by more than 3 percent after the supervisory authority announced the start of operations in Hong Kong.
In early November, Ant surprisingly canceled his IPO. The background was apparently pressure from the Chinese supervisory authorities. With a volume equivalent to almost 30 billion euros, Ant’s IPO in Shanghai and Hong Kong should be the largest of all time.
Ant is part of Alipay, China’s leading online payment service. Before the IPO was canceled, Alipay was criticized by the state-controlled banking sector. Alibaba founder Jack Ma was called in by authorities. According to the company, more than 700 million people in China use Alipay every month. More than 14.4 billion euros are transferred annually through the service. Alipay also makes loans to homes and smaller businesses, offers asset management and insurance, and thus extends to the state-controlled financial sector. (SDA)
