China fines Alibaba $2.75bn for anti-monopoly violations
Beijing’s antitrust enforcement on internet platforms enters a new era
China slapped a record 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) fine on Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. on Saturday, after an antimonopoly probe found the e-commerce giant had abused its dominant market position for several years.
The fine, about 4 percent of Alibaba’s 2019 domestic revenues, comes amid a crackdown on technology conglomerates and indicates China’s antitrust enforcement on internet platforms has entered a new era after years of laissez-faire approach.
The Alibaba business empire has come under intense scrutiny in China since billionaire founder Jack Ma’s stinging public criticism of the country’s regulatory system in October.
A month later, authorities scuttled a planned $37 billion IPO by Ant Group, Alibaba’s internet finance arm, which was set to be the world’s biggest ever. The State Administration for Market
Regulation (SAMR) announced its antitrust probe into the company in December.
While the fine brings Alibaba a step closer to resolving its antitrust woes, Ant still needs to agree to a regulatory-driven revamp that is expected to sharply cut its valuations and rein in some of its freewheeling businesses.
“This penalty will be viewed as a closure to the anti-monopoly case for now by the market. It is indeed the highest profile anti-monopoly case in China,” said Hong Hao, head of research BOCOM International in Hong Kong.
“The market has been anticipating some sort of penalty for some time ... but people need to pay attention to the measures beyond the anti-monopoly investigation.” The SAMR said it had determined that Alibaba, which is listed in New York and Hong Kong, had been “abusing market dominance” since 2015 by preventing its merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms.
The practice, which the SAMR has previously spelt out as illegal, violates China’s anti-monopoly law by hindering the free circulation of goods and infringing on the business interests of merchants, the regulator added.
Besides imposing the fine, which ranks among the highest ever antitrust penalties globally, the regulator ordered Alibaba to
make “thorough rectifications” to strengthen internal compliance and protect consumer rights. Alibaba said in a statement that it accepts the penalty and “will ensure its compliance with determination.” The company will hold a conference call on Monday to discuss the penalty.
“We will tackle it openly and work through it together,” CEO
Daniel Zhang said in a memo to staff seen by Reuters. “Let’s improve ourselves and start again together as one.”
The fine is more than double the $975 million paid in China by Qualcomm, the world’s biggest supplier of mobile phone chips, in 2015 for anti-competitive practices. “There has been weakness in China’s big tech stocks and I think this fine will be seen as a benchmark for any other penalties which could be applied to the other companies,” said Louis Tse, managing director at Wealthy Securities in Hong Kong.
The hefty penalty on Alibaba also comes against the backdrop of regulators globally, including in the US and Europe, carrying out tougher antitrust reviews of tech giants such as Alphabet Inc., Google and Facebook Inc.
With the fine on one of its most successful private enterprises, Beijing is making good on threats to clamp down on the “platform economy” and rein in the behemoths that play a dominant role in the country’s consumer sector.