Beijing's moves to strengthen its antitrust laws have wiped out $200 billion in value from its technology firms in the last two days.
The Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.5 percent on Wednesday in Hong Kong, taking its two-day loss to 7.5 percent, while shares of Alibaba Group, Tencent Holdings, JD.com, Meituan and Xiaomi – China's largest tech companies – fell by at least 5.8 percent, «Bloomberg» reported on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, a day before Singles’ Day, China’s largest online shopping event, the country's market regulator announced a set of draft rules that could rein in the monopolistic behavior of the country’s top internet firms, amid a booming internet economy in which major players have been accused of unfair competitive practices.
The proposed measures include limiting price discrimination among consumers, preferential treatment for merchants who sign exclusive agreements with platforms and compulsory collection of user data.
Ant Nixes IPO
China's heightened oversight of the financial sector resulted in Ant pulling the plug last week just 48 hours ahead of its much anticipated $35 billion IPO.
