Back in November last year Chinese authorities halted Ma's Ant Group US$34.5B IPO.
Jack Ma, who controls Alibaba, had criticized domestic (and global) regulators for stifling financial services innovation, criticism the CCP did not appreciate.
Ma is back in hot water again, this time Chinese regulators have hit Alibaba with an 18.23 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) fine (around 4% of company recent year revenue)
- the outcome of an anti-monopoly investigation (which was opened in December ... they move quickly in China)
- says Alibaba abused its market dominance
China’s State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said an Alibaba policy
- stifles competition in China’s online retail market
- infringes on the businesses of merchants on the platforms
- infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of consumers
Alibaba made a statement saying it accepted the penalty and will comply with SAMR's determination
- and that it fully cooperated with the investigation
- has conducted a self-assessment
- has implemented improvements to its internal systems
