Hong Kong shares drop, dragged lower by tech on latest crackdown

** The latest moves in Beijing's crackdown include telling delivery and ride-hailing firms to better protect workers, breaking up Ant's Alipay and forcing creation of separate loans app, and telling internet giants to stop blocking each other's website links from their platforms. ** Chinese office developer SOHO China tumbled 35% in its biggest daily drop since listing more than 14 years ago after Blackstone Group Inc BX.N scrapped a $3 takeover deal.

Hong Kong shares finished down on Monday, dragged lower by internet giants following a slew of moves by Beijing to crack down on the country's technology sector. The Hang Seng index fell 1.5%, to 25,813.81, while the China Enterprises Index lost 1.6%, to 9,238.99 points.

** Shares of tech giants Meituan, Alibaba Group, and Tencent Holdings dropped 4.5%, 4.2%, and 2.5%, respectively. ** The latest moves in Beijing's crackdown include telling delivery and ride-hailing firms to better protect workers, breaking up Ant's Alipay and forcing the creation of separate loans app, and telling internet giants to stop blocking each other's website links from their platforms.

** Chinese office developer SOHO China tumbled 35% in its biggest daily drop since listing more than 14 years ago after Blackstone Group Inc BX.N scrapped a $3 takeover deal. ** Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturers BYD Co Ltd and Xpeng Inc finished down 2.1% and 2.4%, respectively, after China's Industry and Information Technology Minister said the country had "too many" EV makers and the government would encourage consolidation.

** Indebted developer China Evergrande Group plunged 6.9% on report of payments suspension and delay. ** The energy sub-index jumped 3.8%, the biggest daily gain in four months.

** Shares of PetroChina Co, CNOOC Ltd, and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp gained over 2%, as oil prices rose to a one-week high as concerns over shut output in the United States supported the market.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)