Alibaba shares drop after reports of China’s antitrust investigation

BEIJING – Alibaba shares fell in both Hong Kong and for many hours in US trade, with reports emerging that the Chinese government was conducting an anti-monopoly investigation at the tech giant.

The State Administration of Market Regulation in China said through official online channels on Thursday that it has opened an investigation into Alibaba about monopolistic practices. The underlying problem was a practice that forced merchants to choose one of the two platforms, rather than being able to work with both.

The news comes on the heels of a growing – and largely unexpected – Pressure from Chinese authorities to rein in the biggest tech companies through regulatory measures

A representative of Alibaba did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Bloomberg published the news for the first time, which was announced by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

Hong Kong-listed Alibaba shares are down more than 6% soon After the markets open Thursday.

Alibaba shares traded in New York were down more than 3% in post-close trade on Wednesday.

Separately, Alibaba affiliate Ant announced that it had received notice on Thursday from organizers for a meeting. Last month , Regulators abruptly suspended the fintech giant’s mega initial public offering A few days before the planned listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

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