China: investigation into the Alibaba empire
The Alibaba empire of businessman Jack Ma is in the sights of the Chinese authorities (illustration) Anthony WALLACE AFP / Archivos
Text by: RFI Follow
3 min
In China, an investigation was opened on suspicion of monopoly practice on Alibaba, causing the stock to fall on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Jack Ma's empire has been in the crosshairs of the Chinese authorities for a while.
Publicity
Read more
with our correspondent in Beijing,
Stéphane Lagarde
The news is last Thursday morning in one sentence on the wire of the
Xinhua news agency
, and it is not to wish Alibaba a "merry Christmas".
For several weeks now, the Chinese e-commerce giant has been the subject of pressure and warnings from market regulators in China.
The last minute suspension
of Ant Group - the
world's number one online payments company - in early November caused astonishment here, and not just among traders.
This setback cost one of China's greatest fortunes billions.
Since then, the
founder of Alibaba
has completely disappeared from the screens;
a stark contrast to the past life of - the former English teacher, officially retired from Alibaba - the one who ended up embodying the success of red capitalism around the world, defending the fight against global warming at the summit of Paris in 2015 or exchanging light jokes with actress Nicole Kidman on
Singles Day and Shopping in China.
In a recent statement, the Chinese Politburo expressed the need to strengthen antitrust surveillance and prevent “capital expansion”.
This opening of an investigation responds to the concerns of regulatory bodies about the arrival of technological groups in the finance sector and in particular online loans.
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To read also
: In China, the fintech giants, target of the authorities
"
This (the survey) is an important measure,"
writes
The People's Daily on
Thursday
, "to strengthen antimonopolistic supervision and promote a healthy long-term development of the digital economy
.
"It may also be the end of another" Chinese dream "for Jack Ma, or at least a new version of the fable of the frog and the ox ... No matter how powerful the Alibaba empire is, whatever the wealth of a private group, this survey reminds us that the rules remain fixed by the Communist Party in China.
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