China regulator suggests Big Tech crackdown may be coming to an end, report says

• Beijing's regulatory scrutiny of fintech firms may wrap up this year, according to a Bloomberg report.
• China has cracked down on tech companies for nearly a year to fix what it sees as a range of financial and social problems.

China may wrap up its crackdown on financial technology companies by the end of 2021 following substantial progress in addressing a range of issues, including anti-competitive behavior, said the country's top financial regulator, according to a Bloomberg report.

More than a thousand issues related to the fintech operations of 14 internet platforms were identified by authorities. Companies have responded positively to the government's feedback, Guo Shuqing, the chairman of China's Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told state broadcaster CCTV according to the Thursday report.

Guo expects "even more significant progress" before the end of the year after the implementation of roughly half of Beijing's proposed rectifications.

The Chinese government for nearly a year has engaged in a campaign of scrutinizing large technology companies as it clamped down on financial and social issues ranging from unfair competition and what it sees as security risks in Chinese firms listing in the US.

E-commerce heavyweight Alibaba and ride-hailing service Didi Global have been among the targets, with regulatory action in the sector erasing billions of dollars from companies' stock valuations.