Meituan and Alibaba shares rise as China moves to curb price wars

China's antitrust committee has opened a probe into competition among food-delivery platforms, and shares of Meituan and Alibaba rose in Hong Kong following the announcement.

China's top antitrust body has opened a probe into competition among food-delivery platforms, and markets reacted on Monday. The State Council's anti-monopoly and anti-unfair competition committee will examine competition behavior under China's antitrust law, the State Administration for Market Regulation said. The inquiry is set to include on-site checks, interviews and surveys, according to the regulator's statement. The investigation follows heavy subsidy-driven discounting by major delivery firms since 2025. Reported details: - Meituan's shares rallied 6.6% in Hong Kong and Alibaba's shares rose 5.3%; JD.com gained more than 2% on the news. - The regulator said the committee will conduct on-site checks, interviews and surveys to examine competition behavior among delivery platforms. - The probe follows aggressive subsidy spending and steep discounts by Alibaba, Meituan and JD.com in 2025 that investors have said eroded margins. - Broader Chinese tech stocks in Hong Kong also advanced, with the Hang Seng Tech Index up 3.1% and a wider Asian stock gauge up 0.6%. - Other firms that rose included Kuaishou and Bilibili (each advanced more than 6%); Alibaba Health gained more than 10% and JD Health rose about 5%. - Media reports also noted expectations of a new AI model from DeepSeek and an AI developers' conference in Beijing later in the week. Summary: Investors reacted to the announcement with share gains, reflecting hopes the probe may curb subsidy-driven discounting that has weighed on industry margins. The committee said it will proceed with on-site checks, interviews and surveys; further regulatory steps or formal findings were undetermined at this time.