Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent were among a dozen companies being examined for inclusion in a Defense Department list of firms deemed to support Chinas military, intelligence and security services.
Alibaba Group Holding
The billionaire businessman and Alibaba founder has disappeared from the public limelight after brushes with Chinese regulators in recent weeks, sparking speculation about his fate.
Beijings top market regulator said it investigated the three major e-commerce platforms after receiving complaints from consumers.
The probe casts a spotlight on longstanding contentions from merchants and rivals that the e-commerce giant pressures some sellers to operate only on its platforms.
Todays Top Supply Chain & Logistics News from WSJ.
Shares in Alibaba tumbled, extending a recent pullback, as China stepped up pressure on the e-commerce giant and its billionaire co-founder Jack Ma.
Six of Chinas largest consumer internet businesses, including Alibaba and Tencent, were informed of increased scrutiny of a popular e-commerce purchasing model.
The House unanimously approved legislation that threatens a trading ban of shares of Chinese companies, such as Alibaba, over concerns that their audits arent sufficiently regulated.
Lawmakers next week are likely to force Chinese companies with shares traded on American exchanges to finally comply with audit-oversight rulesor leave U.S. markets altogether.
The extraordinary move to suspend the $34 billion initial public offering of Ant Group, the online-finance operation carved out of Alibaba, caps a tug of war between billionaire Jack Ma and Chinas top regulators.
The financial-technology company part-owned by Alibaba Group is set to raise at least $34.4 billion through dual listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Investors punished Pinduoduo and rewarded Alibaba and JD after their quarterly results. Chinese e-commerce companies need to deliver growth to meet rising expectations.