Photographer: Marlene Awaad / Bloomberg
Photographer: Marlene Awaad / Bloomberg
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China has just given a record antitrust fine to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The company thanked the government and investors breathed a sigh of relief.
Alibaba’s U.S. deposit receipts rose 9.3% Monday in New York, its biggest jump in nearly four years. For Jack Ma, the founder of the e-commerce giant, his fortune rose by $ 2.3 billion to $ 52.1 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
The $ 2.8 billion fine is less severe than some investors feared and is based on only 4% of the company’s domestic sales in 2019, well below the maximum 10% allowed by Chinese law. While the Internet giant will have to adjust its way of doing business, its vice president said regulators will not impose a radical overhaul of its e-commerce strategy and its CEO said Alibaba was ready. to continue.
“Alibaba would not have achieved our growth without sound government regulation and service, and critical oversight, tolerance and support from all of our constituencies have been crucial to our development,” the company said in an open letter. . “That’s why we’re full of gratitude and respect.”
Read also: Remember Alibaba Fine Shows China’s Great Technology Can’t Fight
Ma, who until last year was China’s richest person, has lost billions since his nation’s regulators launched an antitrust campaign, halting the initial public offering of his payment company Ant Group Co. just two days before it was made public. He is now the third richest person in China after Zhong Shanshan of Nongfu Spring Co. bottled water company. and Pony Ma from Tencent Holdings Ltd.
Apart from that, the central bank of China ordered Ant to become a financial company that would be regulated more like a bank. The move, announced Monday, will have far-reaching implications for the firm’s growth and its ability to move forward with an initial public offering. Alibaba shares opened 3.4% higher in Hong Kong on Tuesday.
– With the assistance of Coco Liu
(Updates to include the ant review and stock movement in the last paragraph)