Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu fined Chinese competition watchdogs | Business and Economics

Technology companies were ordered to pay $ 3.4 million for 43 antitrust violations.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Baidu Inc. China’s competition watchdogs are among the companies that have been ordered to pay fines totaling 21.5 million yuan ($ 3.4 million), the latest round of sanctions for the nation’s ongoing crackdown. on monopolies.

Companies must pay 500,000 yuan ($ 78,000) for each of the 43 anti-competitive violations, the State Administration of Market Regulation said in a statement on Saturday.

President Xi Jinping declared in March his intention to pursue “platform” companies that accumulate data to create monopolies, and Beijing has stepped up its antitrust control over China’s extended private sector, especially in the digital realm.

Alibaba was charged $ 2.8 billion earlier this year for abusing its market dominance, while Meituan, a leading food distributor, was fined $ 533 million last month for violating antitrust regulations.