China Investigates Meituan, Alibaba Units Over Suspected Unfair Competition

China's market regulator has launched investigations into units of Tech-driven Retail Company Meituan and e-commerce giant Alibaba, along with two other online travel platforms, over suspected violations of unfair competition laws. 

Reuters citing Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported that the Beijing branch of the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) is investigating Meituan unit Beijing Sankuai Information Technology.

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The probe also covers Alibaba unit Hangzhou Taomei Aviation Services, Tongcheng Network Technology and Tujia Online Information Technology (Tianjin), following preliminary findings by regulators, CCTV reported on Saturday.

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Tongcheng and Tujia said in posts on their official WeChat accounts that their operations remain normal and that they are ooperating with authorities. Meituan also said it would cooperate with regulators, while Hangzhou Taomei said it was cooperating with the investigation.

The China Hotel Association separately said on Saturday that the Beijing branch of SAMR had begun investigating four online hotel and travel booking platforms over suspected unfair competitive practices. It did not name the companies involved.

According to the association, the investigation followed a meeting between SAMR, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and representatives from the online booking industry.

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The latest action comes as China continues its broader crackdown on monopolistic and anti-competitive practices. In July, regulators fined Trip.com 5.2 billion yuan ($776.4 million) over what they described as a monopoly in online hotel bookings, Reuters reported.

The regulatory scrutiny also comes as Beijing seeks to boost domestic consumption amid a slowing economy.

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