China's market watchdog "conditionally" approves Tencent'

BEIJING, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said Tuesday that it has approved Tencent's acquisition of an equity stake in online audio platform Ximalaya, subject to certain restrictions to ensure fair market competition.

The decision was made after a SAMR review determined the acquisition could potentially play a role in eliminating or restricting competition in China's online audio streaming and online music streaming platforms.

Tencent, Ximalaya and the post-acquisition entity are therefore required to fulfill a series of restrictive commitments, SAMR said in a statement. For instance, they must not raise service prices for online audio streaming platforms, lower service standards, or impose unreasonable trading conditions.

The statement also said that they must not reduce the share of free content, including free popular content, on online audio streaming platforms.

According to the statement, the decision will help safeguard fair competition in China's online audio streaming and online music streaming platforms, curb rat race competition in such platforms, and promote innovation and the sound development of the country's platform economy.

The regulator said that it will strictly supervise the companies' implementation of the commitments and fully leverage the preventive role of pre-acquisition review, in a bid to maintain fair competition in China's online audio and online music streaming platforms and protect the legitimate rights and interests of business entities and consumers.

Maintaining fair market competition is a key task highlighted in the outline of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030). The outline calls for improving market regulation rules, unifying standards and enhancing regulatory capabilities to foster a market order characterized by high quality, fair pricing and healthy competition.