The Alibaba Group has been fined 16 billion yuan ( 2.85 billion) by the Chinese market regulation administration (SAMR) for creating monopolies in the market. An investigation has found evidence that Alibaba has established “exclusive market dominance” since 2015 by stopping its merchants from using other e-commerce platforms, SAMR said on Saturday.
The Chinese administration claims that Alibaba’s actions violated China’s anti-monopoly laws by interfering with the free flow of goods and harming business interests.
That’s why SAMR has instructed one of the world’s largest e-commerce platforms to strengthen its internal system and make “complete improvements” in protecting consumer rights.
Alibaba, meanwhile, said in a statement posted on social media Weibo that it was accepting the fine and would fully implement the Chinese administration’s policy.
Although the country has the highest number of such fines in the country, the amount is small for tech giant Alibaba. Because of the amount of profit they made in 2019, this fine is only four percent.
Last October, Jack Ma, the founder and billionaire of Alibaba, sharply criticized China’s policy-making system. Since then, his company has come under fire from the Chinese government.
Last December, China’s Market Regulatory Authority (SAMR) launched an investigation into allegations of breach of policy against Alibaba. Earlier, Alibaba’s affiliate Ant Group’s 36 billion IPO plan was postponed.