Chinese Meal Deliverer Meituan Receives Large Fine

The Chinese meal delivery company Meituan has been fined almost 461 million euros by the Chinese competition authority. The reason is the violation of monopoly rules, the watchdog reported.

 

The fine follows months of investigation into the practices of the meal delivery company.

Meituan is a marketplace for millions of restaurants and also offers hotel bookings and grocery delivery. The company will be fined and have to give money back to providers who had paid to get a prominent place on the platform. That amount is converted to 173 million euros. In addition, Meituan must comply with the legal rights of restaurants and improve the safety of deliverers.

Meituan said in a statement that he accepts the fine and “resolutely” follows the instructions of the watchdog. The meal delivery company also says it will ensure that the competitive position of other companies is not undermined.

The Chinese government has been tackling tech companies in the country for some time now. Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to use this to distribute wealth more evenly so that not all the money goes to large companies and employees are paid more fairly. Earlier, taxi app Didi also received a fine, as did online store Alibaba.