Representatives for Alibaba, which is based in the Chinese city of Hangzhou, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The investigation is part of a broader official pushback against the business empire of Jack Ma, Alibaba’s co-founder and by some counts China’s richest man. Earlier that month, Chinese regulators halted the initial public offering of Ant Group, Alibaba’s finance-focused sister company, quashing a listing that had been on course to be the largest in history. The move came after Ma publicly criticized Chinese regulators for being too obsessed with containing financial risk. It runs the Taobao Marketplace, an online bazaar where merchants set up electronic stands to sell to customers.

Source: bd News24 December 24, 2020 06:33 UTC