The fine could surpass the $975 million that Qualcomm paid
in 2015 over anticompetitive practices, the report said. The regulators are
also considering whether the Chinese e-commerce giant should divest some assets
unrelated to its main online-retailing business.
Alibaba declined to respond to a Reuters request for
comment.
Founder Jack Ma's business empire has been put under intense
scrutiny by Chinese regulators following his stinging criticism of China's
regulatory system in late October.
In late December China's State Administration for Market
Regulation announced it launched an antitrust probe into Alibaba.
That news came after authorities in Beijing halted a planned
$37 billion IPO from Ant Group, Alibaba's Internet finance arm.
The company has come under fire in the past from rivals and
sellers for allegedly forbidding its merchants from listing on other e-commerce
platforms, a practice known as "two-choose-one."
Alibaba's Hong Kong shares climbed 1.7 percent on Friday
morning, after its New York shares gained 2.8 percent overnight amid a broad
stock market rally. The New York shares are still down about a quarter from
their October levels. -Reuters