Baidu and State-Owned Citic Bank Fined Combined 1 Million Yuan for Antitrust Violations

While China’s drive to crack down on anticompetitive behavior has especially focused on the internet sector, a traditional bank has now fallen afoul of the country’s antitrust watchdog.

Almost five years after getting the banking regulator’s approval to set up an online bank with Baidu Inc., China Citic Bank Corp. Ltd. (601998.SH) was fined for not notifying antimonopoly regulators of the State Council, China’s cabinet, before establishing the joint venture.