Review № 13 of Chinese Antitrust News from the Experts of the BRICS Competition Centre
- Chinese startup Pony.ai and American Uber to launch driverless taxis in the Middle East
- Geely offers $2.2 billion to buy out subsidiary Zeekr
- Meituan to invest $1 billion in food delivery service in Brazil
- Chinese BYD becomes most popular brand in Singapore, overtaking Toyota
- Chinese Baidu prepares to launch robotaxis in Europe and Turkey
- Chinese battery maker CATL plans to raise $4 billion in the largest IPO of the year in Hong Kong
- Chinese regulators remind leading food delivery platforms of the need for fair competition
- SAMR holds symposium on supporting entrepreneurs through digital platforms
- China and the US temporarily reduce mutual trade duties
- Chinese authorities remind CK Hutchison of the need to comply with the law when selling its port business
Chinese startup Pony.ai and American Uber to launch driverless taxis in the Middle East
Chinese self-driving car startup Pony.ai and American taxi aggregator Uber have announced the launch of a self-driving taxi in the Middle East. The service will be available in the Uber app this year, but it is not specified in which country.
At the pilot stage, the cars will have a driver, but in the future, commercial operation of fully autonomous taxis is planned.
For Uber, this step is part of a global strategy to develop self-driving transportation: the company is already collaborating with the American Waymo, as well as with Chinese startups Momenta and WeRide.
Last month, Pony.ai presented its seventh-generation autonomous driving system and demonstrated three serial robotaxi models developed in partnership with Toyota and Chinese state-owned automakers BAIC Group and GAC. Despite its ambitions, Pony.ai remains an unprofitable company: by the end of 2024, the net loss amounted to $275 million, and its shares have fallen by more than 60% since February.
Source: SCMP
Geely offers $2.2 billion to buy out subsidiary Zeekr
Chinese automaker Geely has offered $2.2 billion to buy out shares of its electric vehicle brand Zeekr, which went public in the US just a year ago. Under the terms of the deal, Geely will buy all shares of Zeekr Intelligent Technology Holding, which it does not already own, listed on the US stock exchange, for $2.2 billion, or $2.566 per share.
As of May 7th, Geely owns 65.7% of Zeekr shares. After the deal, if it goes through, the company will gain full control of the brand, and the total market capitalization of Zeekr will be $6.52 billion.
This decision is due to fierce competition in the electric vehicle market. Geely founder Li Shufu previously announced the need to consolidate the business, including the creation of two divisions - mass (Geely Auto) and premium (Zeekr Group).
Sources: Reuters, BussinessTimes
Meituan to invest $1 billion in food delivery service in Brazil
Chinese company Meituan has announced plans to invest $1 billion in the development of its food delivery service Keeta in Brazil. The investment agreement was signed on Monday at the China-Brazil business forum.
The investment is calculated for five years and will be part of a total package of Chinese investments in the Brazilian economy in the amount of $4.7 billion. Among other projects are the construction of semiconductor factories by Shenzhen Longsys Electronics and the expansion of the Mixue Group network, a company specializing in the sale of cheap sweet drinks and ice cream.
Meituan is actively developing overseas markets amid increasing competition with JD in China. In 2024, the company launched the Keeta app in Saudi Arabia. The service quickly became popular and now operates in all major cities of the country. According to Citigroup forecasts, Keeta may overtake Jahez, which ranks second in the market, as early as this year.
Source: Bloomberg
Chinese BYD becomes most popular brand in Singapore, overtaking Toyota
Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD has topped the sales charts in Singapore for the first time, overtaking Toyota in the first four months of 2025. According to official data, BYD sold 3,002 vehicles, accounting for 20% of all car sales in Singapore. Previously the number one, Toyota, sold 2,050 vehicles, while Tesla, BYD's main EV rival, sold just 535. BYD has been aggressively expanding overseas amid stiff competition in China. The company reportedly aims to sell half of its cars outside the country by 2030.
Source: Reuters
Chinese Baidu prepares to launch robotaxis in Europe and Turkey
Chinese tech giant Baidu is preparing to test and eventually launch its Apollo Go self-driving taxi service in Europe and Turkey, joining a growing number of Chinese companies aggressively expanding their autonomous driving tech efforts overseas.
The company is reportedly in talks with Swiss Post's PostAuto unit to launch a robotaxi service in Switzerland, with trials potentially starting in late 2025.
Source: Bloomberg
Chinese battery maker CATL plans to raise $4 billion in the largest IPO of the year in Hong Kong
Chinese electric vehicle battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) plans to raise at least $3.99 billion in an IPO on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, which will be the largest IPO in the world this year. The company plans to place 117.9 million shares at $33.7 per share. The final price will be announced no later than May 19th.
More than 20 key investors, including Sinopec and Kuwait Investment Authority, have expressed their desire to purchase shares worth a total of $2.62 billion.
The company plans to use about 90% of the funds raised during the IPO to build a plant in Hungary.
Source: Reuters
Chinese regulators remind leading food delivery platforms of the need for fair competition
The General Administration for Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China, together with other departments, held a meeting with representatives of leading food delivery platforms, including JD, Meituan and Ele.me. The reason for this was the intensification of competition in the industry after JD entered the food delivery market.
During the meeting, the department representatives reminded the companies of the need for strict compliance with the law and fair competition, called for jointly creating a healthy market environment, protecting the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, restaurants and couriers, and ensuring the sustainable development of the platform economy.
Source: ChinaDaily
SAMR holds symposium on supporting entrepreneurs through digital platforms
Bai Qingyuan, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Market Regulation of the People's Republic of China, held a symposium on business development with the support of platform companies. The meeting was attended by individual entrepreneurs from various cities and provinces of China, representatives of platform companies such as Xiaohongshu, Alipay, Douyin, Pinduoduo, as well as representatives of financial institutions in the country. The meeting discussed the problems of entrepreneurs and possible support measures through digital platforms. As noted by the participants of the meeting, platform companies can provide new opportunities for businesses through digitalization, promotion and expansion of sales markets.
Source: Weixin
China and the US temporarily reduce mutual trade duties
On May 14, 2024, an agreement between China and the United States on a temporary reduction of trade tariffs came into force. Chinese-American negotiations on this issue were held on May 10-11 in Geneva with the participation of Chinese Minister of Commerce Li Chengyang and US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
According to the agreement reached, the United States reduced tariffs on Chinese goods from 145% to 30%, while China, in turn, reduced tariffs on American products from 125% to 10%. These measures will be in effect for 90 days.
Source: Reuters
Chinese authorities remind CK Hutchison of the need to comply with the law when selling its port business
On May 15, a spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce commented on the CK Hutchison port deal.
He Yongqian stressed that since March, regulators have repeatedly stated that such deals must strictly comply with the law to protect market competition and public interests. Companies should not evade scrutiny, and completing a deal before receiving approval entails legal liability. The spokesperson called on businesses to remain clear-headed and act prudently.
Earlier in March, there were reports that China had launched an investigation into the CK Hutchison deal to sell ports in Panama. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to provide details at the time, but noted that China is “firmly opposed to economic coercion and violation of the rights of other countries.”
Source: Weixin
