Chinese Regulator Halts Huya-Douyu Game-streaming Merger
Voice of America
HONG KONG - China's market regulator on Saturday blocked the merger of Tencent-backed game streaming platforms Douyu and Huya following an anti-monopoly investigation, as authorities ramp up scrutiny of some of the country's biggest technology companies.
Huya and Douyu — which provide videogame live-streaming services akin to Twitch in the U.S. — are two of the largest companies of its kind in China. Both count gaming firm Tencent among their investors. China's State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement that a merger between Huya and Douyu would give Tencent control over the merged entity. "From the perspective of different key indicators like revenue, number of active users, resources for streamers, the total share is very substantial, and the elimination and restriction of competition can be foreseen," the statement said.Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. Fire rages following an Israeli strike on an area designated for displaced Palestinians, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, in this still picture taken from a video, May 26, 2024. Palestinians gather at the site of an Israeli strike on a camp for internally displaced people in Rafah on May 27, 2024. A member of the bomb squad of the Israeli police collects debris after a rocket fired by Palestinian militants struck in the Israeli city of Herzliya on May 26, 2024.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, right, and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, left, leave a podium after marking Independence Day in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 26, 2024. Demonstrators with Georgian national and EU flags rally during an opposition protest against a foreign influence bill as they mark their country's Independence Day, in the center of in Tbilisi, Georgia, May 26, 2024.