WSJ: Chinese authorities are preparing a record fine for Alibaba after the conflict with Jack Ma - more than $975 million

Chinese antitrust authorities plan to impose a record fine on the Internet retailer Alibaba, whose founder, 56-year-old billionaire Jack Ma, had a conflict with the Chinese authorities. This is reported by The Wall Street Journal, citing sources.

The size of the fine is not yet known, but, according to the interlocutors of the publication, familiar with this issue, it may be higher than the fine imposed on processor manufacturer Qualcomm. In 2015, the company was fined $975 million, the largest corporate fine in Chinese history.

The Chinese authorities, as the WSJ emphasizes, do not intend to “destroy” Alibaba, which is popular with local residents and global investors, but for this the corporation will have to break ties with its founder and begin to work more closely with the Communist Party of China.

According to the publication, antitrust authorities may also require Alibaba to abandon the practice that prohibits sellers working with an online retailer from trading on other sites. Also, the authorities may require the corporation to give up part of the assets not related to its core business.

• In October 2020, Alibaba founder Jack Ma told a conference in Shanghai that international financial regulation was outdated and accused Chinese banks of having a "pawnshop mentality". After that, Chinese financial regulators summoned Ma for an interview. In November, the businessman at the last moment postponed the listing of his fintech company Ant Group, whose IPO could be the largest in history.
• After the performance in Shanghai, Jack Ma stopped appearing in public. It was assumed that he left China or was detained, but his friends claimed that the businessman remains in China. In January 2021, he made his first public appearance in three months.
• , amid falling Alibaba shares Since November 2020, Jack Ma's net worth has fallen by more than $12 billion, from $61.7 billion to $49.1 billion .