CHINA’S market regulator said yesterday it has asked Shanghai regulators to investigate online discounter Pinduoduo Inc. following media reports of counterfeit goods and intellectual property infringements.

The move comes after the Chinese e-commerce startup raised US$1.63 billion last week in the second-biggest U.S. listing by a Chinese firm this year, which valued the company at US$23.8 billion.

Regulators will interview the Shanghai-based platform’s operators and will deal seriously with any illegal practices found on the platform, the State Administration for Market Regulation said on its website.

The 3-year-old company says it has 300 million active buyers and reaches a consumer group that tends to be less Internet-savvy and lives outside of the country’s megacities.

However, since its flotation, it has become the subject of online jokes and media reports in China that accuse the company of selling shoddy products which are counterfeit copies of items made by brands such as Samsung, Apple and Coca Cola.

Skyworth Digital Holdings Co., a Chinese television manufacturer, issued a statement last week asking Pinduoduo to stop selling counterfeit Skyworth products on its site.

Zheng Yuanjie, a popular writer, also said on his verified Weibo account that pirated versions of his books were being sold on Pinduoduo, which he had reported to regulators.

(SD-Agencies)