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Record Dh10.2 billion fine drags e-commerce giant Alibaba in the red

Shanghai - Company was fined as part of a push by regulators to rein in dominant digital platforms.

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said Thursday it fell to a $1.17 billion operational loss in its latest financial quarter due to a record fine levied by the government for anti-competitive practices.

The Hangzhou-based company was fined 18.2 billion yuan (Dh10.2 billion) last month as part of a push by regulators to rein in dominant digital platforms that have achieved unprecedented influence over the daily lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers.

Alibaba said however that its business continued to post solid growth and that without the hole blown in its finances by the fine, it would have posted an operating profit of $1.6 billion, up 48 percent.

Alibaba, Tencent, JD.com and other big tech players became hugely profitable on growing Chinese digital lifestyles, plus government restrictions on major US competitors in the domestic market.

• Asia