China’s market regulator has taken its first major step towards curbing the monopolistic power of its tech giants, drawing up draft antitrust rules that have sent shares in companies such as Alibaba, Tencent and food delivery giant Meituan tumbling in Hong Kong.
The move, which will see China attempt to define for the first time what constitutes anti-competitive behaviour in the tech sector, is the latest wing-clipping of high-flying digital platforms in the country after Beijing suspended the blockbuster IPO of Ant Financial last week.
Meituan’s shares fell more than 11 per cent following the news, while Alibaba’s and Tencent’s fell more than 5 and 4 per cent respectively.