Chinese e-commerce giant has been issued a record 18 billion yuan ($2.77 billion), an estimated 4% of its 2019 revenue, financial penalty for breaching anti-monopoly regulations and “abusing market dominance”.
Alibaba Group has been slapped with a record 18.2 billion yuan ($2.77 billion) fine for breaching China’s antitrust regulations and “abusing [its] market dominance”. The Chinese e-commerce giant says it will “accept” the ruling, which marks the culmination of an investigation that began last December. China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said in a statement Saturday that Alibaba had been abusing its strong market position since 2015 to prevent merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms. It said such practices impacted the free movement of goods and services, infringing on a merchant’s business interests, and in breach of the country’s anti-monopoly laws. According to SAMR, the financial penalty accounted for some 4% of the e-commerce giant’s 2019 revenue from its home market. The regulator’s ruling followed its investigation into Alibaba that began last December over alleged anti-competitive practices, including claims it imposed a “forced exclusivity” clause requiring merchants to peddle their wares only on one e-commerce platform. SAMR added that the e-commerce operator would have to establish “comprehensive rectifications”, including adopting fair competition practices, safeguarding merchants on its platforms as well as consumer rights, and boosting its internal controls.
