Alibaba Fined By China Over Improper Reporting Of Intime Purchase

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd BABA has been fined by the Chinese market regulator for not reporting past deals properly, Reuters reported Monday (Shanghai time).

What Happened: The State Administration of Market Regulation fined Alibaba $76,464.29 (RMB 500,000) after it reviewed the company’s deal with Intime Retail (Group) Co Ltd, according to Reuters.

The market regulator also fined Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent Holdings Ltd TCEHY the same amount after it looked into its deal with New Classics Media.

Why It Matters: In 2017, the Jack Ma-led Chinese group made a $2.6 billion offer to fully acquire InTime — a department store and mall operator — and delist it from the Hong Kong Stock exchange, TechCrunch reported.

More recently, during the coronavirus pandemic, Intime resorted to using live streaming and online sales to boost its sales, CNBC reported.

The retailer was able to harness the logistics and e-commerce expertise of its parent to weather the pandemic while retailers around the world faced closures and bankruptcies, noted CNBC.

Price Action: Alibaba shares closed nearly 0.1% lower at $264.54 on Friday and fell 0.13% in the after-hours session. On the same day, Tencent OTC shares closed almost 0.9% lower at $75.14.

Related Links:

Alibaba Nears Deal To Sell Entire Stake In Online Grocer BigBasket To Tata: Report

Jack Ma Gets Summoned By Chinese Regulators Ahead Of Ant Group's IPO

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia