Chinese e-commerce giant has been issued a record 18 billion yuan ($2.77 billion), an estimated 4% of its 2019 revenue, financial penalty for breaching anti-monopoly regulations and "abusing market dominance".

Alibaba Group has been slapped with a record 18.2 billion yuan ($2.77 billion) fine for breaching China's antitrust regulations and "abusing [its] market dominance". The Chinese e-commerce giant says it will "accept" the ruling, which marks the culmination of an investigation that began last December.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) said in a statement Saturday that Alibaba had been abusing its strong market position since 2015 to prevent merchants from using other online e-commerce platforms. It said such practices impacted the free movement of goods and services, infringing on a merchant's business interests, and in breach of the country's anti-monopoly laws.