<p>China denied on Friday it was planning to hit e-commerce giant Alibaba with a record fine of almost $1 billion for allegedly flouting monopoly rules, as authorities turned up the pressure on the country's vast technology sector.</p>.<p>Alibaba, China's largest online shopping portal, has been in the crosshairs of authorities in recent months over concerns of its reach into the daily finances of ordinary Chinese people.</p>.<p>The market's regulator denied it was planning to fine the company almost $1 billion for anti-competitive behaviour, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, who cited unnamed sources "familiar" with the matter.</p>.<p>However, on Friday it hit 12 other tech firms -- including giants Tencent, Baidu and ByteDance -- with symbolic fines for allegedly flouting monopoly rules.</p>.<p>Tencent was fined $77,000 for its 2018 investment in online education app Yuanfudao without seeking prior government approval for the deal, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement Friday.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/chinese-regulator-fines-alibaba-baidu-tencent-9-others-for-monopolistic-behaviour-961080.html">Chinese regulator fines Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, 9 others for monopolistic behaviour </a></strong></p>.<p>Search giant Baidu has to pay the same amount for acquiring consumer electronics maker Ainemo under the radar in 2014.</p>.<p>Beijing has warned it will take an increasingly ruthless approach to antitrust questions.</p>.<p>Premier Li Keqiang last week said the government would "strengthen anti-monopoly laws" and "prevent the disorderly expansion of capital".</p>.<p>Analysts said that Friday's blizzard of fines sends a strong signal of the Communist Party's dominion over the country's tech landscape.</p>.<p>"These penalties send a message: the economy and everything within it must comply with the state's directive," Alex Capri, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore's business school, told AFP.</p>.<p>Capri said heavy-handed regulations will rein in the ability of tech firms to gobble up market share and influence with unchecked acquisitions.</p>.<p>The ongoing squeeze on Alibaba - one of China's most influential companies - is the latest sign that the leadership is ready to deflate the ambitions of big tech firms in a runaway internet sector.</p>.<p>The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that officials are considering levying a hefty penalty against the company that could top the $975 million paid by US chipmaker Qualcomm in 2015 -- the biggest known fine for anticompetitive practices in China.</p>.<p>But the regulator in charge of the case told AFP there was no truth to the story.</p>.<p>"If it's not there (on our website), it's not (true)," a spokeswoman for the State Administration for Market Regulation said.</p>.<p>Still, the company's legal troubles linger. Problems began after comments in October by billionaire founder Jack Ma in which he laid into China's convoluted regulatory system.</p>.<p>In November, financial regulators pulled the plug on the record $35 billion Hong Kong-Shanghai initial public offering of Alibaba's online payment subsidiary Ant Group.</p>.<p>A month later, officials opened an investigation into Alibaba's business practices, deemed anti-competitive, and Ma disappeared from public view until mid-January.</p>.<p>The company, based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, last month said it was "fully cooperating" with the investigation by the State Administration for Market Regulation.</p>.<p>Regulators are also investigating whether the conglomerate should divest assets unrelated to its main online retail business, the Wall Street Journal reported, without offering details.</p>.<p>An Alibaba spokesperson declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.</p>.<p>The company has come under fire in the past for allegedly forbidding its merchants from listing on rival e-commerce platforms.</p>.<p>Once finalised, measures against Alibaba will need to be approved by China's top leadership.</p>.<p>Regulators have already told Ant Group to change its business model and hack back its lending, insurance and wealth management services.</p>.<p>Alibaba saw profits jump 52 percent to $12.2 billion over the last three months of 2020, despite the official crackdown.</p>
<p>China denied on Friday it was planning to hit e-commerce giant Alibaba with a record fine of almost $1 billion for allegedly flouting monopoly rules, as authorities turned up the pressure on the country's vast technology sector.</p>.<p>Alibaba, China's largest online shopping portal, has been in the crosshairs of authorities in recent months over concerns of its reach into the daily finances of ordinary Chinese people.</p>.<p>The market's regulator denied it was planning to fine the company almost $1 billion for anti-competitive behaviour, as reported by the Wall Street Journal, who cited unnamed sources "familiar" with the matter.</p>.<p>However, on Friday it hit 12 other tech firms -- including giants Tencent, Baidu and ByteDance -- with symbolic fines for allegedly flouting monopoly rules.</p>.<p>Tencent was fined $77,000 for its 2018 investment in online education app Yuanfudao without seeking prior government approval for the deal, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement Friday.</p>.<p><strong>Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/chinese-regulator-fines-alibaba-baidu-tencent-9-others-for-monopolistic-behaviour-961080.html">Chinese regulator fines Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, 9 others for monopolistic behaviour </a></strong></p>.<p>Search giant Baidu has to pay the same amount for acquiring consumer electronics maker Ainemo under the radar in 2014.</p>.<p>Beijing has warned it will take an increasingly ruthless approach to antitrust questions.</p>.<p>Premier Li Keqiang last week said the government would "strengthen anti-monopoly laws" and "prevent the disorderly expansion of capital".</p>.<p>Analysts said that Friday's blizzard of fines sends a strong signal of the Communist Party's dominion over the country's tech landscape.</p>.<p>"These penalties send a message: the economy and everything within it must comply with the state's directive," Alex Capri, a senior fellow at the National University of Singapore's business school, told AFP.</p>.<p>Capri said heavy-handed regulations will rein in the ability of tech firms to gobble up market share and influence with unchecked acquisitions.</p>.<p>The ongoing squeeze on Alibaba - one of China's most influential companies - is the latest sign that the leadership is ready to deflate the ambitions of big tech firms in a runaway internet sector.</p>.<p>The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that officials are considering levying a hefty penalty against the company that could top the $975 million paid by US chipmaker Qualcomm in 2015 -- the biggest known fine for anticompetitive practices in China.</p>.<p>But the regulator in charge of the case told AFP there was no truth to the story.</p>.<p>"If it's not there (on our website), it's not (true)," a spokeswoman for the State Administration for Market Regulation said.</p>.<p>Still, the company's legal troubles linger. Problems began after comments in October by billionaire founder Jack Ma in which he laid into China's convoluted regulatory system.</p>.<p>In November, financial regulators pulled the plug on the record $35 billion Hong Kong-Shanghai initial public offering of Alibaba's online payment subsidiary Ant Group.</p>.<p>A month later, officials opened an investigation into Alibaba's business practices, deemed anti-competitive, and Ma disappeared from public view until mid-January.</p>.<p>The company, based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, last month said it was "fully cooperating" with the investigation by the State Administration for Market Regulation.</p>.<p>Regulators are also investigating whether the conglomerate should divest assets unrelated to its main online retail business, the Wall Street Journal reported, without offering details.</p>.<p>An Alibaba spokesperson declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP.</p>.<p>The company has come under fire in the past for allegedly forbidding its merchants from listing on rival e-commerce platforms.</p>.<p>Once finalised, measures against Alibaba will need to be approved by China's top leadership.</p>.<p>Regulators have already told Ant Group to change its business model and hack back its lending, insurance and wealth management services.</p>.<p>Alibaba saw profits jump 52 percent to $12.2 billion over the last three months of 2020, despite the official crackdown.</p>