Trip.com fined for abusing market position
China's State Administration for Market Regulation said Trip.com abused its dominant market position by using traffic-allocation algorithms, platform rules and technology to force some hotels into exclusivity and require lowest online rates. The regulator confiscated 1.658 billion yuan in illegal gains and fined 3.521 billion yuan, equal to 7.5 percent of Trip.com's domestic sales of 46.958 billion yuan in 2025. Trip.com's group includes Ctrip, Qunar and global site Skyscanner. Hong Kong shares slipped 0.8 percent to HK$342.60 ahead of the announcement and the stock has fallen sharply from earlier this year.
SAMR fined Trip.com 3.521 billion yuan and confiscated 1.658 billion
Context
The SAMR announced the penalty on Saturday. It said Trip.com had used algorithms and platform rules since 2020 to force exclusivity and lowest rates. The firm may face higher compliance costs and closer regulatory scrutiny next.
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