UPDATE 1 — China investigates Meituan unit for suspected violations of unfair competition laws

Meituan unit under investigation Listed Tongcheng says operating normally (Adds response from Tongcheng and further details) SHANGHAI, Sept 19 (Reuters) — China's market regulator is investigating Meituan unit Beijing Sankuai Information Technology for suspected violations of unfair competition laws, the country's official CCTV broadcaster reported on Saturday. China has been cracking down on monopolistic behaviour, most recently fining Trip.com $770 million over what the regulator said was its online hotel-booking monopoly, as Beijing struggles to bolster consumption amid a slowing economy. The Beijing branch of the State Administration for Market Regulation said Hangzhou Taomei Aviation Services, Tongcheng Network Technology and Tujia Online Information Technology (Tianjin) were also subject to investigation after preliminary findings, according to CCTV. Tongcheng said in a post on its official WeChat account that its operations were normal and that it was cooperating with authorities. The four companies have not responded to requests for comment. (Reporting by Ryan Woo and Engen Tham; Editing by Sam Holmes and Tom Hogue) ((engen.tham@thomsonreuters.com;)