China fined the food-delivery giant Meituan $530 million for antitrust violations on Friday, the second major penalty this year in Beijing’s efforts to bring the country’s big internet companies to heel.
The government’s campaign has been blessed by the highest levels of the Communist Party leadership. It has involved a wide cast of regulatory agencies and policymaking bodies. And it has wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars in wealth for shareholders of some of China’s — and the world’s — most successful tech businesses.
Investors are still waiting to learn the fate of another of China’s most-valuable internet companies, the ride-hailing giant Didi (NYSE: DIDI). Days after Didi listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in late June, Chinese regulators ordered the company to stop signing up new users and pulled its apps from mobile stores, citing cybersecurity and privacy concerns.
New York Times
China slapping $530 million for antitrust violation is scary. It’s making me nervous about owning Chinese stocks. Meituan, likely Didi, is not in the US stock market.