China’s Antitrust Watchdog Considers Tough Alibaba Fine

Chinese regulators are mulling a record antitrust fine against Alibaba that would surpass the US$975 million levied against Qualcomm in 2015, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, March 11, citing sources.

Alibaba, considered the Amazon of China, is popular with international investors and Chinese households. Half of the country’s population — roughly 780 million people — shopped on one of the company’s platforms in 2020. 

Alibaba, which was co-founded by Jack Ma more than two decades ago, is also a point of pride and an economic engine for the country, the sources told the Journal. Alibaba employs 110,000 people and is a leading provider of cloud storage. The company also has an artificial intelligence (AI) unit that is quickly growing.

While regulators want to support Alibaba, officials also want the company to distance itself from Ma, who stepped down as chairman in 2019. Chinese officials also want Alibaba to step up its alignment with the Communist Party, sources familiar with Beijing’s thinking told the news outlet.

Alibaba will also have to address allegations that it punishes merchants that aren’t exclusive to its platform. How the situation will be handled by regulators is not yet known, the sources said. Regulators are further considering if Alibaba will have to spin off assets that aren’t complementary to its eCommerce business. The company has several businesses, including eCommerce, entertainment, media, and cloud computing. 

The company posted net income close to US$20 billion in its most recent fiscal year. Some Alibaba executives said paying a fine would be the easiest way to move forward amid regulatory uncertainty.  

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.