HONG KONG -- Chinese online retailer JD.com is set to spend billions of yuan on a subsidy program for merchants as a price war with rival Pinduoduo heats up, people familiar with the matter told Nikkei Asia.
Internally, the program is referred to as "10 billion yuan subsidies" ($1.5 billion), the same name that Pinduoduo used for a similar setup introduced in 2019. The figure has been rounded and may not represent the exact amount JD.com intends to spend, but the subsidies will be substantial, and numerous teams within the company are working on the launch, according to the sources.
