China fines Alibaba 2.75 Billion Dollars

 

China fined Alibaba Group Holdings, a leading online shopping company, 18 billion yuan (2. 2.75 billion) on Saturday.

Anti-Monopoly Investigation

China has fined a major e-commerce technology company following an anti-monopoly investigation.

According to the international news agency Reuters, the anti-monopoly investigation revealed that the e-commerce company had resorted to manipulation to maintain its monopoly in the market for many years.

The fine is about 44% of Alibaba's 2019 total revenue.

According to Reuters, China has launched a large-scale crackdown on anti-monopoly.

The move against Alibaba comes after Alibaba's billionaire founder Jack Ma criticized the country's regulatory system in October.

Head of Research BOCOM

Hong Hao, head of research BOCOM International in Hong Kong, said the State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) had launched an investigation against Alibaba in December.

He added that this is the biggest anti-monopoly case in China and the fine will now be seen in the market as an anti-monopoly test case.

It may be recalled that Jack Ma had criticized government regulators and state banks while addressing a financial technology conference in October last year.

Jack Ma, the owner of a 58 billion business, is a well-known figure in Asia's billionaires.

The world's largest IPO, offered by his company, was blocked by Chinese regulators even before it was launched.