HONG KONG (REUTERS) - Chinese regulators are considering cutting retail price limits on some traditional Chinese medicines (TCM) by as much as 10 per cent early next year, a newspaper controlled by the official Xinhua news agency reported.

This follows a regulatory crackdown on real or perceived corporate wrongdoing this year, with domestic and international manufacturers of infant formula and drugs coming under the spotlight.

The Economic Information Daily, citing unidentified sources, reported on Thursday that the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) was looking to reduce prices of top-end, non-essential products, which had risen sharply due to supportive policies.

Beijing Tongrentang and Shijiazhuang Yiling Pharmaceutical are among the firms that will be most affected, given the range of such medicines that they offer, the report said.

The agency expects to see prices for a small number of such products drop by up to 25 per cent in two years, according to the report.

Traditional Chinese medicine products classified as "essential" by the NDRC and those identified as state secrets will be exempted from this ruling.