Large technology companies have great power both in their own countries and in other markets. However, in recent years, antitrust lawsuits have been filed against these companies one after another. Alibaba company, one of the largest e-commerce giants in China and the world, also received a record fine in the antitrust case.
Alibaba will pay record antitrust fine! One fifth of what you paid to Trendyol
Alibaba faces record antitrust fine in China. Accordingly, JD.com reported that the e-commerce giant resorted to a monopolistic practice called choosing one of two. But what exactly does the practice of choosing one of two, which was widely used in China before December 2020, mean?
This is an application that forces sellers who will sell on marketplaces such as Amazon and JD.com to sell only in one place. Accordingly, sellers can choose only one of the two markets offered. However, JD.com objected to Alibaba’s practice for the first time in 2017. JD.com applied to the court in 2019 on the grounds that this prevented competition and directed sellers to large markets.
After the investigation, Alibaba faced a record fine of 1 billion Yuan, or 140 billion dollars. However, this is not the biggest penalty Alibaba has paid. The antitrust watchdog, the State Administration of Market Regulation, fined Alibaba a record $2.75 billion.
Alibaba became a partner of Trendyol in 2018, paying 728 million dollars. In this sense, the penalty Alibaba will pay now is 1/5 of the money it paid to Trendyol. Although this penalty is not challenging for Alibaba, JD.com is among Alibaba’s biggest competitors in China for now. However, the biggest problem of the two companies is the rise of Pinduoduo, which currently sells via live broadcast. The company recently became China’s best-selling e-commerce company.