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China Begins Anti-monopoly Probe of Alibaba

Agence France-Presse

   BEIJING - China has launched an anti-monopoly investigation into
   Alibaba, regulators said Thursday, heaping further pressure on the
   e-commerce giant and sending its share price tumbling.

   Regulators will also hold "supervisory and guidance" talks with
   Alibaba's gigantic financial services subsidiary Ant Group, state media
   reported, just weeks after Beijing halted its record-breaking IPO at
   the last minute.

   The moves demonstrate mounting state pressure on one of the country's
   most influential companies, whose success revolutionized the e-commerce
   landscape and made its founder Jack Ma China's richest man.

   Investigators are looking into Alibaba for "suspected monopolistic
   practices," the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a
   statement.

   Alibaba shares tumbled 5.48% on the news shortly after the Hong Kong
   Stock Exchange opened Thursday morning.

   Its financial services subsidiary Ant Group said in a statement that it
   would "diligently study and strictly comply with regulatory
   departments' requests."

   Ant Group made its name via its main product Alipay, the online
   payments platform and super-app that is now deeply embedded in China's
   economy.

   But the company has also expanded into offering loans, credit,
   investments and insurance to hundreds of millions of consumers and
   small businesses, spurring fear and jealousy in a wider banking system
   geared more for supporting state policy and large corporations.

   As global demand for the dual Hong Kong-Shanghai listing pushed the IPO
   toward record valuations -- potentially handing Ma and Ant Group even
   more funding, legitimacy and clout -- Chinese regulators acted.

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