The signage is seen at the Alibaba Group headquarters during the company’s 11.11 Singles ’Day World Shopping Festival in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, on November 11, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
GUANGZHOU, China – Alibaba’s shares in Hong Kong jumped more than 5% on Monday after Chinese regulators fined 18.23 million yuan ($ 2.8 billion) on the company as a result of an antitrust investigation.
“Despite the record amount of fine, we believe this should lift a significant advance in BABA and refocus the market’s focus on the fundamentals,” Morgan Stanley wrote in a note Sunday, a day after the fine.
Chinese regulators opened an antitrust probe on Alibaba in December. The main focus was on a practice that forces merchants to list their products on one of two e-commerce platforms, rather than choosing both.
The Chinese State Administration for Market Regulation (MRSA) said on Saturday that the practice stifles competition in China’s online retail market and “infringes the business of platform traders and the legitimate rights and interests of consumers.” .
Alibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said he does not expect a material impact on the company from the change in this exclusivity agreement.
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