Alibaba fined for pricing violations

China's e-commerce giant, Alibaba Group, has been fined $129,000 by the price bureau in eastern Zhejiang province for violations by third-party sellers during promotions on its e-commerce platforms.
Since Alibaba turned "Singles' Day", a November 11 Chinese response to Valentine's Day, into an online shopping festival in 2009, the event has grown to similar proportions as Cyber Monday and Black Friday in the United States.
Sales of more than $9 billion were achieved at last year's event, and the company has copyrighted the phrase "Double 11", a reference to the date (11/11), which in turn, refers to the status of single people.
"The company has been fined $81,000 for matters related to Singles' Day pricing by third-party sellers on our Tmall marketplace in 2013 and 2014 and $48,000 for pricing in other promotions in 2013 and 2015," Alibaba Group said in a statement on Friday.