China regulator bans company names that are overly long or strange

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People browse merchandise at a clothing store in Shangxiajiu Pedestrian Street in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China.

Authorities in China have issued rules that prevent businesses from registering overly long or bizarre company names, online outlet Sixth Tone reported.

China’s State Administration for Industry and Commerce stated in a list of 33 guidelines that the use of entire phrases or paragraphs as company names was no longer permissible, Sixth Tone said. The guidelines were implemented by regulators over the weekend, the website said.

Company names that will likely no longer make the cut under the rules include “There is a Group of Young People with Dreams, Who Believe They Can Make the Wonders of Life Under the Leadership of Uncle Niu Internet Technology Co. Ltd,” a condom company which went viral on Chinese social media for its lengthy name, according to Sixth Tone.

Entrepreneurs in the country have in the past registered their companies under rather interesting names, such as “King of Nanning, Guangxi, and His Friends Trading Co. Ltd” and “Beijing Under My Wife’s Thumb Technology Co. Ltd.,” Sixth Tone said.

The rules also banned the registration of names that referenced terrorism and extremism, as well as those that attempted to mimic the names of already-registered businesses. Using the names of former leaders who had passed on, such as Mao Zedong, in company names was also not allowed as that could be misleading, the guidelines said.

Although banning Chinese corporations from choosing odd company names might appear benign, the move plays out against the backdrop of authorities tightening regulations across a broad range of areas. Just last month, authorities clamped down on the use of virtual private networks (VPNs) to prevent internet users from circumventing its “Great Firewall.”

Hundreds of China-listed companies have also updated their corporate charters in recent months to reflect a larger role for the Communist Party in decision-making, Nikkei Asian Review said on Thursday.

Read the full Sixth Tone story here.