Is China in an age of Internet oligopoly?

A WeChat app icon is pictured in Beijing, in this December 5, 2013 file picture illustration. [Photo/Agencies]

BEIJING - Booking a taxi, ordering food, reading the news, watching movies and playing games - the seemingly infinite number of apps on the Chinese market, gives the illusion of an open, competitive market.

However, the plethora of apps notwithstanding, experts warn that the majority of apps on the market are BAT- (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) run services.

According to Analysis International, all but one of September's ten most downloaded apps were BAT products. In fact, Sogou Typewriting, the only exception, later received investment from Tencent.

Industry insiders said that BAT's rapid mergers and acquisitions have left startups with little room to compete.

Concerns have been raised over whether innovation and user's rights may both fall by the wayside as the Internet behemoths become too big to fail.

HELP OR HINDERANCE?

The Internet, for many, is an essential part of modern life but it is not without its issues.

For example, links to products on Alibaba's Taobao cannot be opened within Tencent's WeChat, China's most popular instant messaging app. Instead, the address has to be laboriously hand typed as both companies have walled off information sharing.