Taobao Taiwan will cease operations in Taiwan at the end of 2020.
Taobao Taiwan stops operating
UK-registered firm, Claddagh Venture Investment, which owns Taobao Taiwan said that this decision was made due to "multiple uncertainties in the market", Reuters reported.
As of 11am on Oct. 15, the website has stopped all transactions and onboarding of new sellers.
The company added that it will help sellers to deliver orders to buyers and process refunds when necessary.
Taobao Taiwan has operated in Taiwan for almost a year, since October 2019.
Taiwan authorities: Taobao Taiwan is controlled by Alibaba Group
In August 2020, Taiwan's Investment Commission ruled that Claddagh Venture Investment is controlled by Alibaba Group, the parent company of e-commerce platform Taobao.
They found that Alibaba Group owns 28.8 per cent of Claddagh Venture's shares through its branch company in Singapore, Taiwan News reported.
The findings also claimed that Alibaba Group also controls Taobao Taiwan's operations.
The authorities then gave the company six months to re-register themselves as a Chinese-backed company instead of a foreign company.
Claddagh Investment, however, denied that Taobao Taiwan is being controlled by the Alibaba Group.
Taiwan has also announced more stringent measures against Chinese investments in August amid the ongoing tension with mainland China, Nikkei Asia reported.
Several Chinese-backed media companies have been barred in Taiwan, such as Chinese TV streaming services iQiyi and Tencent’s WeTV.
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