{"text":[[{"start":9.24,"text":"JD.com’s €2.2bn acquisition of German electronics retailer Ceconomy has been cleared by the European Commission following an investigation in which Brussels determined the Chinese ecommerce group had benefited from state subsidies."}],[{"start":23.78,"text":"The Commission said on Tuesday that JD.com had made commitments “which fully and effectively remedy the distortion resulting from the identified foreign subsidies”."}],[{"start":33.04,"text":"The deal is the first time a Chinese takeover of a European company has been assessed using the EU’s foreign subsidy regulation, at a time of trade tensions between the two. China had threatened retaliation if the deal were blocked."}],[{"start":46.16,"text":"It comes weeks after Brussels and Beijing agreed to limit Chinese hybrid vehicle exports to the EU to tackle a widening trade deficit."}],[{"start":53.96,"text":"JD.com, China’s largest retailer with annual revenue of $187.2bn last year, launched its bid for Ceconomy, which operates more than 1,000 stores across Europe under the MediaMarkt and Saturn brands, in July last year."}],[{"start":68.76,"text":"The Commission said on Tuesday that JD.com had used preferential financing, tax incentives and grants from Beijing to develop logistics and technological knowhow that would allow Ceconomy to undercut competitors."}],[{"start":81.2,"text":"JD.com has pledged to provide technology and logistics, including warehousing, to other retailers on the same terms as Ceconomy. It has also committed to conducting intragroup transactions, including financing, on market terms. The commitments last for 10 years."}],[{"start":96.8,"text":"EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said this would prevent “cross-subsidisation of the parties’ European operations”."}],[{"start":103.32,"text":"“Consumers benefit from a competitive retail and ecommerce sector, with a level playing field for companies,” she added."}],[{"start":110.1,"text":"The closure of the deal comes about five months behind the companies’ target completion date and a week before a hard “long-stop date”, after which either party had the right to walk away if all regulatory clearances had not been obtained. Ceconomy shares rose 2.5 per cent on Tuesday."}],[{"start":125.52,"text":"The deal will further JD.com’s international ambitions, which have led to the company entering talks over acquisitions of UK retailers Argos and Currys in recent years. Neither deal was completed."}],[{"start":135.08,"text":"JD.com chief Sandy Xu said: “Our goal is to support Ceconomy in accelerating its growth sustainably, further strengthening its competitive position in Europe and continuously driving innovation in an evolving retail market.”"}],[{"start":149.4,"text":"Remko Rijnders, chief executive of Ceconomy, said: “Customers will benefit from a wider selection, including faster deliveries, as well as access to exciting new technologies that will help bring innovations to market more quickly.”"}],[{"start":169.08,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1793784227_4039.mp3"}