Alibaba Group hit with record $2.8 billion fine amid increased government scrutiny of billionaire Jack Ma's tech empire

[Hamartia Antidote]

Alibaba Group hit with record $2.8 billion fine amid increased government scrutiny of billionaire Jack Ma's tech empire

Jack Ma's company accepted the huge penalty levied by Chinese regulators on Saturday. The billionaire mogul has been under increased scrutiny for some time

www.businessinsider.com

Jack Ma, executive chairman of the Alibaba Grou

China on Saturday fined Jack Ma's Alibaba Group a record $2.8 billion for abusing its leading market position.

Alibaba Group said in a statement that the penalty came from the State Administration for Market Regulation, which had been investigating it since December.

The fine was yet another sign that Chinese regulators have taken a more critical stance towards the tech empire built by Ma, one of the country's wealthiest moguls.

Speaking at a conference last fall, Ma made negative comments about international financial regulations. Chinese President Xi Jinping then reportedly halted a planned $37 billion initial public offering by Ant Group, another Ma company.

After the clash, Ma disappeared from public view for months. It was later reported by The Financial Times that he'd spent some of that time meeting with regulators.

The government on Saturday said Alibaba had used anti-competitive practices in its online retail market.

The fine was equal to about 4% of Alibaba's annual sales in China, according to Xinhua News, a quasi-state media outlet. Local news reports said the company would be required for three years to complete "self-inspection" reports that it would then submit to the watchdog.

"Alibaba accepts the penalty with sincerity and will ensure its compliance with determination," the company said Saturday in a press release.

It added: "To serve its responsibility to society, Alibaba will operate in accordance with the law with utmost diligence, continue to strengthen its compliance systems and build on growth through innovation."

The company also published an open letter to customers, saying it had "fully cooperated" with the investigation.

"Alibaba would not have achieved our growth without sound government regulation and service, and the critical oversight, tolerance and support from all of our constituencies have been crucial to our development," the company said.

The 18 billion yuan fine was a record for China, surpassing the $975 million fine issued to Qualcomm in 2015, as Reuters reported at the time.

Alibaba will hold a conference call on Monday to discuss the penalty.

 

[Indos]

I think Jak Ma is part of opposition group in CCP that want to overtake Xi Jin Ping. He is also a member of China Communist Party.

 

[IblinI]

I think Jak Ma is part of opposition group in CCP that want to overtake Xi Jin Ping. He is also a member of China Communist Party.

"I think".

 

[leviathan]

I think Jak Ma is part of opposition group in CCP that want to overtake Xi Jin Ping. He is also a member of China Communist Party.

You need educate yourself much harder on China social structure and China political cultural. Its not MA can't against XI, its the business man class can't against him. Search this phase and learn the story behind it. 士农工商

 

[Ahmet Pasha]

For nationalism they are trying to hinder business activity or a business man. Pretty unusual I feel.

 

[GumNaam]

watch & learn america...that's how you reign in big business when they start considering themselves to be bigger than the government.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

For nationalism they are trying to hinder business activity or a business man. Pretty unusual I feel.

Do you know he was engaged in usury?

He basically borrows money from banks in bulk at low interest rates then lends them out to consumers at high interest rates. Consumers can't get the low interest rates from banks because they don't have the negotiating power or scale to demand a discount.

 

[bshifter]

"I think".

As a "think tank" he thinks too much of things he has no understanding of.

 

[TNT]

Finally a country that can rein in big corporations. In the US, the huge corporations actually control the govt.