China’s Antitrust Regulator Grows Staff As Big Tech Crackdown Grows

China’s competition watchdog is adding staff and other resources as it ramps up efforts to crack down on anti-competitive behavior, especially among the country’s powerful companies, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Beijing’s plan to bulk up the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) comes as China revamps its competition law with proposed amendments including a sharp increase in fines and expanded criteria for judging a company’s control of a market.

On Saturday, April 10, the watchdog slapped a record US$2.75 billion fine on Alibaba after an antimonopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years.

The fine underscores the challenges ahead for companies, including global firms with operations in China, mainly in a tech sector that thrived during years of relatively laissez-faire market regulation.

The Beijing-headquartered agency plans to expand its antitrust workforce by around 20 to 30 staff, up from about 40 now, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

The watchdog also plans to delegate case reviewing power to its local bureau and source additional manpower from other government bodies and agencies to handle cases that require extensive investigation, four other people said.

Budgets allocated for antimonopoly investigations, daily operations and research projects will also be increased, said three of the people cited above and one more person with knowledge of the matter.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.