China is set to schedule a meeting after the Labour Day holiday to end the regulatory clampdown on Big Tech firms including Alibaba and Tencent to boost economy, according to sources.
It is understood that the meeting will be staged after the holiday that lasts from Saturday to next Wednesday in mainland, and businesses executives will be assured that regulators will no longer demand rectifications or impose surprise fines.
It is also understood that apart from Alibaba and Tencent, delivery platform Meituan and TikTok owner ByteDance are invited as well.
There will also be a meeting as soon as this weekend where regulators will gather around to ensure they are on the same page on authorities' decision to end the clampdown, according to sources.
Sources also added the key message to the Big Tech firms is that Beijing wants them to help in rebuilding the country's economy that is hit by the stringent Covid-19 curbs and lockdowns.
One example would be Shenzhen, as the city of 17 million announced on Wednesday that authorities will be rolling out 500 million yuan (US$75 million) worth of consumption vouchers through Meituan and JD.com.
This came after state media -- citing a Politburo meeting on Friday -- said China will strive to keep economic growth within a reasonable range, achieve social and economic targets for 2022 and preserve the stable operations of capital markets.
The meeting, chaired by President Xi Jinping, also said China would roll out measures to support healthy development of the platform economy and property market.
Tech giants trading in Hong Kong led gains with a 10 percent jump, amid hopes that Beijing will stop its sweeping regulatory clampdown on the embattled sector.
The blue-chip CSI300 Index rose 2.4 percent to 4,016.24, while the Shanghai Composite Index gained 2.4 percent to 3,047.06 points.
Alibaba (9988) jumped 15.7 percent, Tencent (0700) advanced 11.1 percent, while Meituan (3690) surged 15.5 percent at the close of Friday trading.
Still, the CSI300 Index and Shanghai Composite Index have lost 4.9 percent and 6.3 percent for April, respectively, as China's worst Covid-19 outbreak since Wuhan in 2020 and its zero-Covid policy clouded growth prospects.
Investor sentiment was further dampened by authorities' reluctance to roll out more stimulus in April.
(Staff reporter and Reuters)
