Alibaba Group fined $2.78 billion for abusing dominant market position

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) has slapped a fine of 18.23 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) on Alibaba Group for indulging in a monopolistic act of abusing its dominant market position.

The SAMR said in a notice on Saturday that it had made an administrative penalty decision under China's anti-monopoly law, ordering Alibaba Group to stop illegal activities and imposing a fine of 4 percent on its 2019 domestic sales of 455.71 billion yuan, totalling 18.23 billion yuan.

"We sincerely accept the penalty and would obey it firmly," Alibaba responded in a statement on Saturday. The company pledged to strengthen its operations in accordance with the law, step upbuilding of a compliance system, and better fulfill its social responsibilities.

Since its founding in 1999, Alibaba has morphed into one of the world's largest e-commerce companies. The company's 2014 listing on the New York Stock Exchange was then the biggest stock offering in world history.

China issued antitrust guidelines on the country's platform economy in February, signaling a strengthened antitrust enforcement against monopolistic behaviors in the country's internet platform sector.

The guidelines, drafted under the basic system of China's anti-monopoly law, details the features of the platform economy, basic principles of regulator's supervision, and gives specified guidance on monopoly agreement, abuse of dominance, and concentration of undertakings in the context of the platform economy.

In the beginning of 2020, China started the process of making revisions to its antitrust law for the first time since it took effect in 2008, with major changes on regulating abuse of market dominance.

(Source: CGTN)