HONG KONG (AP) — China’s largest e-commerce company Alibaba Group Holding on Thursday reported its first quarterly operating loss since it went public in 2014, after Beijing slapped a record $2.8 billion fine on the company for abusing its market position. The loss comes after authorities last year launched an investigation into the e-commerce firm and abruptly halted a $37 billion IPO of its financial affiliate Ant Group, as Beijing grew increasingly concerned over the growing influence of technology giants in the country. The company however forecast that its revenue for the fiscal year ended March 2022 will grow by more than 30%, reaching over 930 billion yuan ($144 billion), beating estimates by analysts.
