China hits Trip.com with US$765 million antitrust penalty after six-month investigation

China’s market regulator has imposed a 5.2 billion yuan (US$765 million) penalty on Trip.com Group, the country’s largest online travel services provider, for “monopolistic conduct”.
Trip.com – operator of its namesake international platform, China-focused siblings Ctrip and Qunar, and global site Skyscanner – had “abused its dominant market position”, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said on Saturday.
The market regulator confiscated 1.658 billion yuan in illegal gains and...