BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s market regulator said on Monday it would step up oversight of the so-called sharing economy, where consumers share access to goods and services often with the help of an online platform.
The move by the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) is the latest in a drive by Beijing to strengthen control over its society and key sectors of its economy, including tech, education and property.
Bike-sharing and joint use of portable powerbanks to charge mobile phones are two popular sectors in the sharing economy.
SAMR said its stricter oversight would include regulating powerbank sharing platforms and making their pricing systems transparent.
The regulator also said it was investigating food delivery giant Meituan for not reporting its acquisition of bike-sharing startup Mobike in 2018 for antitrust review.
Meituan did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier on Monday, Meituan warned in a regulatory filing it might be required to pay “significant” antitrust fines.
(Reporting by Brenda Goh, Yingzhi Yang and Yilei Sun Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)
