Alibaba shares soar as it plays down hit from record $2.78bn fine

BEIJING: Shares in tech giant Alibaba surged nine percent Monday as the ecommerce titan reassured investors that a record $2.78 billion antitrust fine imposed by China would have little impact on its operations.

Regulators slammed the tech giant with the penalty on Saturday after a months long probe concluded it had been abusing its dominant market position.

But in a conference call to investors on Monday, Alibaba’s board put a positive spin on the regulatory blow saying it appeared to be the end of the investigation, with chairman Daniel Zhang saying the fine would not have a “negative impact” on business operations.

The sanction comes as the government cracks down on major Chinese tech platforms — and Alibaba in particular…