China to introduce updated antimonopoly policies by September

China’s State Council on Thursday detailed its plan on the revised anti-monopoly policies in a document explaining the work division of the key tasks mentioned in the country’s annual government work report.

In order to strengthen the antimonopoly measures and prevent uncontrolled capital expansion, multiple government departments will work together to introduce relevant policies by September so as to safeguard fair competition in the market.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Finance, People’s Bank of China and other bodies will push forward the introduction of the policies.

China announced on March 8 the review of the antimonopoly, corporate and bankruptcy laws to build a modern economic system and promote technological innovation.

The new law aims to rectify irregularities in the market and better regulate online platforms, like Alibaba, Ant Group, JD.com, Didi Chuxing, Meituan and Pinduoduo, so that their businesses can operate under transparent rules and oversight, analysts said.

According to the document released on Thursday, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the country’s central bank and the NDRC will push forward the regulation of financial holdings companies and fintech companies this year to carry out financial innovations under prudential regulation.

The working mechanism for financial risk management will also be improved in order to avoid systemic risks.