May 26, 01:03 PM

China Proposes Draft Guidelines to Regulate Online Platform Fees, Impacting Meituan and JD.com Amid $100 Billion Market Value Loss

China's State Administration for Market Regulation has released draft guidelines aimed at regulating fees charged by online platforms to third-party merchants, particularly targeting e-commerce and food delivery sectors. The guidelines seek to reduce the financial burden on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and enhance oversight of platform practices. This regulatory move affects major Chinese delivery and e-commerce companies such as Meituan, JD.com, and PDD Holdings Inc. Meituan's shares fell more than 5% at one point following the announcement, reflecting investor concerns. Since late last year, Meituan and JD.com have collectively lost approximately $100 billion in market value amid intense competition for market share in China's food delivery business. Meituan's CEO Wang Xing reaffirmed the company's commitment to aggressively compete and maintain market leadership, responding to JD.com's introduction of a CNY 10 billion initiative. Both companies' stocks, listed in Hong Kong, have dropped over 30% from their October peak and are among the worst performers in the Hang Seng Tech Index. Meituan's quarterly earnings report released recently saw its shares decline by nearly 15% year-to-date despite the ongoing competitive efforts.