Alibaba relieved as regulatory storm ends with record fine
Alibaba CEO Jack Ma waved a red flag in the face of Chinese President Xi Jinping when he compared the nations financial markets to pawn shops, in a presentation ahead of the planned Initial Public Offering of Ant. In November regulators blocked the listing which would have been worth over $34bn according to The Wall Street Journal. The clash was part of a long-running battle between Ma and local regulators. It triggered intense scrutiny of online tech companies and e-commerce platforms, which previously enjoyed relative freedom in their operations. Regulators have seemingly made an example of Alibaba, issuing a record 18.2 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) fine for anti-competitive practices. – Melani Nathan