The confrontation between Alibaba founder Jack Ma and the Chinese authorities proves once again that a huge fine is much better than even a small business reconstruction. The news that the e-commerce giant had got away with a record $2.8bn (£2bn) fine imposed by Chinese regulators revived demand for its shares. Besides, an investigation into anti-competitive practices at the company has finally ended.
In the fall of 2020, Ma openly criticized the country's government and specifically the financial regulator. The Chinese authorities responded immediately by opening an anti-monopoly probe. Then, Alibaba's subsidiary company Ant Group was banned from entering the IPO. In February, Chinese regulators agreed on a restructuring plan that would turn the firm into a financial holding company. Experts were worried that Alibaba was about to become a state-owned business.
The next step was the introduction of the largest fine in the history of the country totaling 18.22 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) for allegedly violating antitrust laws. The investigation revealed that Alibaba conducted a policy that forced consumers to use their services ′"without the right to choose". Market participants were relieved to find out that the company did not fall into the hands of the government.
The news that Alibaba avoided restructuring pushed up the value of Alibaba shares and Jack Ma’s income. The entrepreneur became even richer after the imposed fine. Now, he occupies 25th place in the Bloomberg billionaires index with a fortune of $52.1 billion.
