Alibaba, Tencent-backed China Literature, and Shenzhen Hive Box Technology were each fined 500,000 yuan (US$76,463) by the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), reported Reuters.
The regulator stated it would also look into a merger between game live streaming firms Huya and DouYu International announced in October. Tencent is a major investor in both and the Chinese tech giant had pushed the deal, Reuters has previously reported.
In addition, the SAMR stated it will review and investigate other deals based on tip-offs that some firms had cornered a lot of operating power in certain sectors – a process it expects will be lengthy and involve a large number of companies.
“The fines of the three cases are a signal to society that anti-monopoly supervision in the Internet field will be strengthened,” the SAMR stated, even as it acknowledged the fines were relatively small.
