Weekly News Wrap: Alibaba shares fall amidst new regulation; Amazon’s fake reviews crackdown hits small Chinese makers

And America’s Museum of Ice Cream launches in Singapore.

From Reuters

China moved to tighten control of its technology sector, publishing detailed rules aimed at tackling unfair competition and companies' handling of critical data.

Beijing has been firming its grip on internet platforms in recent months, citing the risk of abusing market power to stifle competition, misuse of consumers' information, and violation of consumer rights, in a reversal after years of a more laissez-faire approach.

The country issued hefty fines to companies including e-commerce giant Alibaba Group as part of a widening crackdown and has vowed to draft new laws around technology innovation and monopolies.

The State Administration for Market Regulation issued a set of draft regulations banning unfair competition and restricting the use of user data.

New York-listed shares of Alibaba, JD.com Inc., and Baidu Inc., fell between 2.9% and 3.5% in premarket trading.

Read more here.

From Bloomberg

Obscure Chinese makers of everything from wireless headphones to kitchen mops that wanted to crack the U.S. market for several years have turned to the world’s biggest e-commerce company for help.

To get attention on Amazon’s sprawling marketplace, many Chinese sellers offer freebies or even cash to consumers willing to write favourable product reviews.

Although review incentives generally violate rules, for years the company was eager to have more Chinese merchants offering an abundant supply of low-priced goods via FBA and didn’t seem to aggressively enforce its policies.

But now Amazon is cracking down on pay-for-praise schemes, which can include other forms of consideration for reviews including free extended warranties, discounts or refunds, or gift cards, as the company looks to restore a sense of order to its previously free-wheeling marketplace.

More than 50,000 Chinese retail accounts have lost their place on the platform, resulting in lost sales of $15.4b (RMB100b), according to the Shenzhen Cross-Border E-Commerce Association.

Read more here.

From Reuters

America's Museum of Ice Cream launched its first international outlet in Singapore, providing some sweet distraction from the coronavirus after curbs put a halt to many entertainment activities across the city state.

Visitors were required to book in advance to prevent crowding and many were excited about the interactive exhibits - free-flow ice cream and children's ball pool filled with plastic multi-coloured ice cream sprinkles.

"We had a lot of fun in the bouncy castle, we were wearing our masks, but bouncing off the calories," said health coach Trudy Sweeney, whilst biting into a red bean potong ice cream, one of the Singapore edition's local offerings.

Her friend Mitch Tugade said the museum was a nice break from the pandemic. "It's really a good place to be—it's happy and you forget about what's happening outside when you're here."

Read more here.