German cartel office investigating Temu over merchant price influencing

BERLIN, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Germany's cartel office has initiated proceedings into Temu to examine whether the Chinese company is influencing the pricing of third-party merchants on its e-commerce platform, it said on Wednesday.

"We are investigating the suspicion that Temu could impose inadmissible requirements on merchants' pricing on the German marketplace," said office president Andreas Mundt.

"Such requirements could constitute significant restrictions of competition and ultimately lead to price increases on other sales channels," he added.

The proceedings have been opened against Dublin-based Whaleco Technology Limited, which operates as Temu in Germany.

Temu said it adhered to applicable laws and regulations in the markets where it operates. "We are confident that any related concerns can be successfully resolved," it said in an emailed statement.

Temu's platform, offering a wide variety of products, has been open to German merchants for about a year, said Mundt.

Temu currently has 19.3 million active users in Germany, while more than 100 million users use its European online marketplace every month, according to the office.