China Fines Alibaba, JD.com, Vipshop Over Pricing Complaints

Consumers accused these platforms of raising product prices before offering discounts during a major shopping festival in November, which made it look like they were getting a better deal than they really were, according to the regulator. The platforms were also involved in false promotions and the use of deception tactics, the regulator said.

Alibaba declined to comment. JD.com and Vipshop Holdings did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Although the fines are nominal for companies, they serve as a wake-up call for them and the internet industry in general. In recent months, China has intensified its scrutiny of the powerful technology sector that has accumulated large amounts of user data.

That campaign hit billionaire Jack Ma hard, along with the two companies he founded – Alibaba and fintech giant Ant Group.

In early November, Beijing sank Ant’s highly successful initial public offering, which was on its way to raising at least $ 34.4 billion. This came after Ma, Ant’s controlling shareholder, criticized President Xi Jinping’s risk control initiative, while criticizing regulators for stifling innovation. On Sunday, regulators ordered Ant to focus again on its original payments business, while the most profitable investment and loan businesses would be reduced.

In the meantime, regulators launched an antitrust investigation against Alibaba, which owns a third of Ant, last week on allegations that the company used its dominant position in the market to pressure traders to sell only on its platforms. The Chinese government is trying to shrink Ma’s empire and potentially take a bigger stake in its business.

China also introduced a new draft antitrust guidelines for the technology industry last month, aimed at regulating new Internet consumption trends.

—Liza Lin contributed to this article.

Write to Chong Koh Ping at [email protected]