10 April 2021, 2:58 am EDT By Alibaba Group Holding faces a record fine of 18.2 billion yuan (US$2.8 billion) for monopolistic business practices deemed an abuse of its dominant market position in China. The news comes after China's regulatory agency launched an investigation in December 2020, which is centered on Alibaba's alleged antitrust practices. Alibaba Investigation: China's Push to Rein the Country's Big Tech Alibaba had come under fire as China's State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) had opened an investigation against the e-commerce giant. SAMR alleges that Alibaba had forced its member merchants to sell exclusively on its platforms and avoid rival e-commerce sites, according to the state-run media Xinhua news agency's report on n Saturday, Apr. 10.