Chinese antitrust authorities have launched an investigation into Alibaba Group for "suspected monopoly practices".
This was reported by the State Administration for Market Regulation, officially targeting the e-commerce giant co-founded by Jack Ma. At the same time, according to official Beijing media, the financial regulatory authorities will also hold talks on " supervision and guidance "with Ant Group, Alibaba's fintech company, a few weeks after Beijing's last minute IPO stop.
The giant collapses in Hong Kong after the investigation was launched: the stock closed a session experienced on the roller coaster, ending trading with a deadweight loss of 8.13%, at Hk 228.2 dollars, not far from the minimum intraday.
Alibaba confirmed the launch of the Chinese antitrust investigation, assuring that "commercial operations are proceeding smoothly".
In a statement, the e-commerce group said it "will actively cooperate with regulators".
On the other hand, the financial services subsidiary Ant Group, whose top management will be convened by the regulatory authorities, has also made it clear that it will collaborate and "study and strictly comply with the requests of the competent departments".