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China’s technology giants are expecting increased scrutiny and penalties after Alibaba’s record $2.8bn fine on Saturday for antitrust violations.

Employees at Tencent Music and Meituan are concerned they could be targeted next by Beijing’s emboldened competition regulators, who have stepped up scrutiny on dealmaking and anti-competitive practices in its once lightly regulated technology sector.

Unlike the antitrust investigation into Alibaba’s ecommerce practices, an antitrust investigation into social media giant Tencent would be more complicated, said a Shenzhen official who oversees tech companies.

Such an investigation could cover their gaming business, music licensing, online lending and their M&A empire, the official added. Of all China’s non-financial companies, Tencent invested the most in start-ups last year.

Additionally, Jack Ma’s elite business academy has been forced to suspend new student enrolments following pressure from Beijing as authorities tighten their chokehold on the Chinese tech billionaire’s empire. (FT)

Coronavirus digest

• China has raised the prospect of mixing vaccines and varying doses to boost efficacy, the first time a government body has acknowledged concerns over the effectiveness of homegrown jabs.

• Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, on Sunday said China “didn’t do what it needed to do” in the early stages of pandemic, worsening the situation for the rest of the world.

• Big US companies, including Morgan Stanley, Yum Brands and PepsiCo, expanded private jet privileges for top executives owing to the pandemic.

• After a slow start marred by delays and supply shortages, Europe’s vaccination drive is stepping up a gear in nations including France, Germany and Italy.

• Michigan is now the epicentre of a regional surge in infections which experts warn could become yet another US national wave if not contained. The nation is also expecting a shortage of Johnson & Johnson vaccines this week. (FT, WaPo)

Could Covid help us tackle climate change? We can adapt in extraordinary ways if we must and if we are willing to make big sacrifices for the common good, writes Tim Harford. Follow our live blog for the latest Covid-19 news.

In the news

Iran says blackout at Natanz facility was ‘nuclear terrorism’ The head of Iran Atomic Energy Agency said a blackout at the underground Natanz site, the country’s main enrichment facility, was caused by those “who intend to prevent our nuclear industry’s development”. He did not mention any country by name and gave no details of the damage caused, or whether it was a cyber attack. (FT)

Cameron admits mistakes as he breaks silence on Greensill In his first public comments on the affair, former British prime minister David Cameron said on Sunday he was right to lobby for Greensill to gain access to a Bank of England Covid-19 loan scheme, but admits it was wrong to do so by sending text messages to Rishi Sunak, the chancellor. (FT)

Montenegro calls for EU help over Chinese highway loan Montenegro has asked the EU for assistance with paying off a $1bn Chinese loan for an incomplete highway project that has imperilled the finances of the small western Balkan nation. (FT)

Söder declares ambition to succeed Merkel Markus Söder, prime minister of Bavaria, has declared his intention to succeed Angela Merkel as German chancellor, in a move that sets the stage for a showdown with Armin Laschet, the CDU leader who has also laid claim to Germany’s top job. (FT)

South Korean EV battery groups settle US dispute Joe Biden has welcomed an agreement between two of South Korea’s biggest conglomerates to resolve a multibillion-dollar dispute that had threatened to disrupt Ford and Volkswagen’s plans to build electric vehicles in the US. (FT)

US to ease restrictions on meeting Taiwanese officials The new rules, which were issued by the US state department on Friday, according to American officials, will ease decades-old restrictions that have hampered meetings between American and Taiwanese diplomats. The state department decision comes amid mounting US-China tensions over Taiwan. (FT)

Kim Jong Un warns of new ‘Arduous March’ The North Korean leader has warned his country to brace for hardship and isolation after making a rare public reference to the country’s devastating famine in the 1990s. A triple hit of strict border closures, trade sanctions and damage from flooding and typhoons last year has hammered the economy. (FT)

Prince Philip dies aged 99 The husband of Queen Elizabeth II, who was a critical figure in the shaping of Britain’s royal family over more than seven decades, has died at the age of 99. The Duke of Edinburgh’s death is expected to mark the start of eight days of official mourning. Read our obituary here. (FT)

The day ahead

India consumer price index The country’s CPI data for March is due out on Monday. India’s economy had emerged from recession in the final quarter of 2020 as a sharp drop in coronavirus infections allowed. But Covid-19 cases are back at a record high. (FT)

US executives discuss chip shortage Senior executives from US companies including Ford, GM and Intel will meet Biden administration officials on Monday to discuss the global chip shortage that has led to halted production at several factories. (WSJ)

England lockdown eases Non-essential shops and services including hairdressers, gyms and pub gardens will welcome back customers on Monday after a third lockdown in England. (FT)

What else we’re reading

Can CVC pull off a $20bn ‘deal of the century’ at Toshiba? The proposed management buyout looks like an improbable win for the Japanese conglomerate’s embattled chief. Toshiba’s internal machinations have led people close to the company to interpret it as a sign of a much deeper power struggle within the 146-year-old group. (FT)

Chauvin trial and race in America The world is watching the court case of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer accused of murdering George Floyd. The trial will provide a window on America’s political mood as it slowly exits the pandemic. Over the weekend, Maryland passed a sweeping police reform bill aimed at limiting officers’ use of force. (FT, NYT)

“[P]eople are on pins and needles” about the verdict, said Keith Mayes, a professor of African American history at the University of Minnesota.

China’s wolf warriors refuse to back down Beijing’s foreign policy is raising tensions and threatens a trade deal but a new approach is unlikely. Chinese diplomats continue to openly clash with their international counterparts. Our editorial board writes that boycotting the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics is not the answer. (FT)

Why manufacturing matters to economic superpowers US and European companies are under tremendous pressure to boycott Xinjiang cotton and use homegrown alternatives. While they risk a backlash from the Chinese, the textile industry has also been becoming less globalised for some time now, writes Rana Foroohar. (FT)

Why so many parliaments remain toxic Workplaces do not get much more hostile than a parliament. By design, these places are full of active combatants eager to do each other in, writes Pilita Clark. They also have a lot more men than women, and what researchers call an “organisational climate” that effectively tolerates harassment. (FT)

A front-row seat to the demise of Indian democracy “For years, I tried to live in the comforting fiction that what was happening in India and what was happening in the world of tech were separate things — but that isn’t true any more,” writes tech reporter Pranav Dixit, as he watched Narendra Modi’s government use technology to upend secular democracy. (BuzzFeed News)

Why you should bet on London Forget talk of a hollowed-out city. Foreign and domestic talent will still race there after the pandemic, writes Janan Ganesh. If London’s relative lure is holding, it will take immigration laws of special obstinacy to diminish its world status. (FT)

Video of the day

Chemical recycling: the end of plastic waste? Less than 9 per cent of the world’s plastic waste is recycled, but an emerging industry promises to change that. Charlotte Middlehurst discovers how chemical recycling — separating complex waste back into its original components, to be used over and over again — could create a so-called “circular economy” for plastic. (FT)

Diversity Leaders: help us compile our ranking of European companies

The Financial Times will publish its third annual list of Europe’s Diversity Leaders at the end of this year and we are once again inviting FT readers to help us collect data for this ranking of inclusive businesses. Please take part in our survey here.