Outside the headquarters of Alibaba Group Beijing on November 10, 2019 in Beijing, China.
VCG | Visual China Group | Getty Images
Chinese regulators fined Alibaba 18.23 billion yuan ($ 2.8 billion) in its anti-monopoly investigation into the technology giant.
In a statement on Saturday, China’s state administration for market regulation accused Alibaba of abusing its market dominance.
In December, regulators launched an investigation into the company’s monopolistic practices. The main focus of the investigation was a practice that forces traders to choose one of two platforms, rather than being able to work with both.
The agency said that this policy hindered competition in the online retail market in China and “infringes on the platforms of merchants on the platforms and the legitimate rights and interests of consumers,” according to a CNBC translation of a Chinese language .
The government has said that ‘choose one’ policy and others allow Alibaba to strengthen its position in the market and gain unfair competitive advantage.
“Alibaba accepts the fine with sincerity and will ensure that it is determined,” Alibaba said in a statement. “To serve its responsibility to society, Alibaba will continue to operate with the utmost care in accordance with the law, continue to strengthen its compliance systems and build on growth through innovation.”
The company added that it would hold a conference in Hong Kong on Monday at 8am to discuss the fine.
The announcement is the latest development in China’s onslaught on technology ventures. Regulators are increasingly concerned about the power of China’s technology giants, especially those working in the financial sector.
This is news. Please come and check for updates.
CNN’s Arjun Kharpal, Evelyn Cheng and Eunice Yoon contributed to this report.