Alibaba Completes Three-Year Regulatory Overhaul After Antitrust Fine

By Tracy Qu

Alibaba Group has completed a three-year process it was mandated to go through after being slapped with a $2.8 billion fine over anti-trust issues during a regulatory crackdown on the country's tech sector.

The e-commerce giant has been regularly submitting "self-examination compliance" reports to market regulators, part of the penalty handed down in April 2021 by China's State Administration for Market Regulation for abusing its dominant position over rivals and merchants.

Regulators inspected Alibaba's rectification efforts and commissioned third-party agencies for assessments as well, state media reported on Friday, citing a statement from the regulator.

They found that Alibaba has ceased its monopolistic "choose one from two" practice, which punished certain merchants who sold goods on both the company's and its rivals' platforms, the report said.

Hangzhou-based Alibaba was not the only Chinese tech company fined during the crackdown. Delivery giant Meituan was also fined more than $533 million in October 2021.

Chinese regulators have adopted a more supportive stance towards tech companies over the past two years, encouraging them to contribute more to the country's slowing economy. High-tech sectors have taken on increasing strategic importance as growth drivers amid a continued slump in the property sector that has curbed growth in the world's second-largest economy.

Write to Tracy Qu at tracy.qu@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

August 30, 2024 05:55 ET (09:55 GMT)

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