By Dhirendra Tripathi
Investing.com – Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) shares were down nearly 1% in Tuesday’s premarket trading after its UC Browser was taken off Android app stores in China.
The browser continues to be available on Apple’s app store but is no longer available on stores operated by Huawei, Xiaomi (OTC:XIACF) and Vivo.
The action by the handset makers follows Monday’s criticism of the company on Chinese state television's annual consumer rights show for including medical ads by unqualified companies.
Following the show, UC issued an apology and said it had begun an investigation and initiated corrective measures, Reuters reported.
In another development that indicates a tougher environment for the likes of Alibaba, Reuters reported today that China's market regulator has tightened scrutiny over the country's booming livestreaming e-commerce platforms, where internet influencers sell goods directly to consumers. There have been concerns about poor quality products and misleading advertising over such influencer-led marketing.
President Xi Jinping instructed China's top economic committee on Monday to close a raft of regulatory loopholes that have been exploited in the past by the country's tech giants. Such actions wiped billions of dollars off the value of financial services startup Ant Group last year, forcing it to shelve its plans for what would have been the world's biggest-ever IPO.