Tetra Pak became the latest multinational to be targeted by Chinese regulators yesterday, with the launch of an antitrust investigation against the European food packaging group.
The announcement followed a probe into the pricing practices of 60 drugmakers by the National Development and Reform Commission, China’s main economic planning agency, and another pricing investigation against baby formula makers.
The unveiling of three investigations involving foreign companies within the space of one week has led to concerns that multinationals are being targeted by the Chinese authorities – and that their high hopes of the vast Chinese market could be misplaced.