Two Beijing online tutoring companies fined 2.5m yuan each

Beijing-based online tutoring companies Zuoyebang and Yuanfudao were each fined 2.5 million yuan ($389,000) by the city's market regulator for false and misleading promotion and advertising on Monday.

The two education startups were given maximum fines and a warning by the Beijing municipal Administration for Market Regulation, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement.

A joint investigation by the national and Beijing market regulators found that Zuoyebang has falsely claimed on its website that it has cooperation with the United Nations, and falsified the teaching experience of its teachers and users' evaluation, the statement said.

Yuanfudao falsely claimed it offered one-on-one tutoring by head teachers and also falsified the teaching experience of its teachers, it said.

The two companies also misled consumers by labeling their online courses with prices that had never been reached before, it added.

Zuoyebang said in a Weibo post that it sincerely accepts the punishment and has conducted comprehensive rectification on improper promotion and pricing.

In a separate Weibo post, Yuanfudao said it has conducted self-examination and changed all misleading information.