BRIE Working Paper 2021-9 The Emerging Regulatory Regime and the Global

In the concluding discussion, we explore the implications of these changes in terms of global expansion and the development of the PBG model. [...] The difference between a platform business group (PBG) and traditional business groups is that the platform firm is the linchpin, not, as in the case of the Japanese keiretsu, the main bank. [...] Although Alibaba agreed that the platform should be responsible for the governance of inauthentic goods, the group insisted that the regulator’s law enforcement was “emotionally charged” and the procedure was illegal, therefore Alibaba filed a complaint against the SAIC department that was in charge of the investigation. [...] One of the important reasons is that the regulatory environment in global markets would be less likely to accept the horizontal expansions and acquisitions that allowed the creation of the PBG model. [...] In the first half of 2021, Tencent had 50 investments in the gaming industry and 33 in business services.21 Many of these investments were in the domestic market, however, it is the oversea investments that were more salient, both for Tencent and the understanding of the future expansion strategy of Chinese platform firms.