The State Administration of Market Supervision of the People’s Republic of China fined Grand Pharmaceutical 136 million yuan (19.3 million US dollars). The company was accused of violating antitrust laws.
It is reported by Reuters with reference to the department. The statement clarifies that the move is related to the conclusion of an agreement between the company and another pharmaceutical company, Wuhan Healcare Pharmaceuticals. This transaction, according to the regulator, allowed its participants to monopolize the market segment.
Chinese authorities also seized 149 million yuan ($21 million) of “illegal profits” from the Grand Pharmaceutical deal. Wuhan Healcare fined 4.13 million yuan ($580,000). In addition, the agency will confiscate more than 30 million yuan ($4.3 million) in profits.
Since the end of 2020, Chinese regulators began applying antitrust measures against companies from various fields, especially IT companies. In April 2021, Alibaba Group was slapped with the largest fine in Chinese history: around $2.8 billion or 4% of the company’s revenue for 2019.
In July 2022, Chinese authorities again fined Alibaba Group for breaching antitrust rules on disclosure of transaction information.
Author:
Ahmed Sadulayev
Source: RB
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