China regulators curb e‑commerce subsidies, stocks tumble

Shares of China's major e-commerce companies fell sharply on Thursday after regulators summoned platform executives to criticize misleading promotional practices during the annual 618 shopping festival. The Beijing Municipal Administration for Market Regulation called in representatives from Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall, JD.com, PDD Holdings, Douyin, and Xiaohongshu.

Officials identified multiple violations, including misleading advertising, unclear promotion rules, and insufficient disclosure surrounding heavily marketed "10 billion yuan" or "100 billion yuan" subsidy campaigns. Regulators stated that platforms failed to clearly disclose how much funding came from the companies themselves versus participating merchants, with some campaigns misrepresented as special festival promotions rather than ongoing marketing efforts.

The regulatory action triggered significant stock declines. In Hong Kong trading, Alibaba shares dropped as much as 6.5 percent, marking their steepest intraday fall in three months. JD.com shares fell nearly 6 percent, their largest decline since November. The sell-off extended a multiday downturn for the sector, which had already been pressured by investor...