In China, there's no such thing as 'too big to fail'

Published Thu, Jan 7, 2021 · 05:50 AM

NOT much is known about where Jack Ma is since his reported disappearance. And only time will tell about the implications on China's entrepreneurial landscape. But what emerges is that in China, no one is too big to fail. The State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) had announced two weeks ago that it had begun an anti-monopoly investigation into Alibaba. The complaint centres on having merchants to sell products exclusively on Alibaba. It's a practice commonly known as "picking one from two".

Regulators are also looking at Ant Group, the fintech company one-third owned by Alibaba. Its US$37 billion IPO, which was ex…