By Ma Jun, Ma Yuan & Yuan Dongming, Research Team on “Anti-monopoly and Fair Competitions of Internet-based Platforms”, Enterprise Research Institute, DRC

Research Report, No.280, 2021 (Total 6345) 2021-9-22

Abstract: The expansion of Chinese platform companies, through merger and equity acquisitions, has attracted wide attention both from home and abroad. The stance on centralized market supervision of the U.S., EU and China have all shifted from an accommodative mode to a tightening one mainly because they are concerned about the fact that excessive consolidation of the market might weaken competitions, hinder innovation and reduce social welfare. There have been different views on the pros and cons of market consolidation among experts. Some think that market consolidation shows the high efficiency of enterprises and can boost innovation, while others believe that it might squeeze out new market players and restrict competitions. Platform enterprises are prominently featured by expansion scale and reliance on Internet platforms. These companies tend to occupy the market exclusively while facing dynamic disruptive threats induced by innovation in technologies and business modes. It is advisable to follow the regulatory approaches of maintaining advantages while eliminating disadvantages, enhance supervision on merger and acquisition activities in light of different stages of industrial development, refine the supervision system on large Internet-based platforms’ acquisition of startups, further ease market access to create a fair environment for new market players, and give full play to the effects of innovation for dynamic competitions.

Keywords: anti-monopoly on platform economy, market centralization, dynamic efficiency