The nature of capital is to pursue profits.
Buffett once said: "Monopoly is the best business."
Therefore, in the process of economic development, free competition leads to production concentration, but when it develops to a certain stage, it will inevitably lead to monopoly.
In the past week, community group buying has been pushed to the forefront of public opinion. Fortunately, the brake button was pressed in time. The editorial of "People's Daily" directly pointed out:
Don't just worry about the traffic of a few bundles of cabbage and a few kilograms of fruit; don't be obsessed with quick success and short-term realization; there must be more in technological innovation. Take more responsibilities, have more pursuits, and achieve more; the starry sea of ??technological innovation and the infinite possibilities of the future are actually more exciting.
The words are straightforward and very clear, that is, we must grasp the sense of proportion and know how to restrain the nature of capital expansion.
1. Strike hard
Sure enough!
A few days ago, the meeting emphasized strengthening antitrust. Today, the relevant departments took decisive action, targeting the three giants Alibaba, Tencent and SF Express.
Among them, penalty decisions were made in accordance with the Anti-Monopoly Law, and fines of RMB 500,000 were imposed on Alibaba, China Literature Group and Fengchao Network respectively. ”
As soon as the news came out, the three companies all responded within a short period of time, with the same attitude: attaching great importance to it, actively implementing it, and cooperating with rectification.
Subsequently, the stock prices of the three giants As a result, Alibaba's stock price fell by 2.63, Tencent Holdings fell by 2.89, and China Literature fell by as much as 4.12. Of course, 500,000 is almost drizzle for these companies. . But judging from the fines received today, they are all cases of failure to declare concentration of undertakings as required.
This is the most easily recognized violation under the anti-monopoly law. Behavior!
2. The whole story
The three companies involved have great influence in the industry, and their transactions involve different industries such as department store retail, film and television production and distribution, and express delivery services.
The specific basic information is as follows:
01. Ali invested in acquiring the equity of Yintai Commercial
In the three years from 2014 to 2017, Ali acquired a total of 73.79% of Intime Commercial three times. A year later, Alibaba further increased its investment and shareholding ratio
02. China Literature, a subsidiary of Tencent, acquired the equity of Xinli Media
In 2018. In August, China Literature Group, a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings, signed an agreement with Xinli Media and others to acquire 100% of the equity of Xinli Media, and the transaction was completed in October of that year.
03. Fengchao Network acquired China Post Intelligence. Delivery Equity
In May 2020, Fengchao Network acquired 100% of the equity of China Post Express through a share exchange and completed the delivery that month.
As a result, the investigation revealed the above three cases. The cases constituted an illegal concentration of business operators that was not declared in accordance with the law, but did not have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition.
Therefore, the State Administration for Market Regulation imposed an administrative penalty of RMB 500,000.
Previously, on November 6, relevant departments summoned more than 27 platform companies including Alibaba for interviews on "monopoly issues" such as intensified platform competition and the "choose one" issue.
Strictly speaking, according to the previously released draft for comments, whether it is "investment and mergers and acquisitions" that are common in the Internet circle, or the "choose one of two" and "big data familiarity" that we are familiar with, all will Can be punished according to anti-monopoly law.
3. The alarm bell is ringing
The word "monopoly" comes from "Mencius" "We must seek monopoly and gain it, and we must look left and right to benefit from the Internet market."
From the global rich list in the past 10 years, it is not difficult to see that the growth rate of China’s capital oligarchs has exceeded any period in history in Europe, America and Japan.
In particular, the marginal effect of the Internet will inevitably lead to winners taking all, so monopoly is inevitable.
For example, in the earliest online car-hailing platform services, various subsidies came one after another. The cheapest one only cost one yuan, while a taxi at that time cost about 20 yuan.
With such a huge price difference, online ride-hailing has quickly exploded in popularity. Taxi drivers have complained endlessly, and many drivers have also chosen to change careers and make a living in other directions.
In the past 10 years, the Internet digital economy has become more and more concentrated, and an oligopoly situation has begun to emerge. It can be said that Internet giants have deeply penetrated into the daily lives of the people and the people.
The Internet industry has always seemed to be a "forbidden zone" in antitrust enforcement, but in 2020, this will soon be a thing of the past.
As the same saying goes, do and think, do and cherish.
Reference materials: Public reports such as financial industry, preliminary study on quality, Qihe Research, Yang Guoying’s observation, Northern Knights, etc.