Partner Elizabeth Chen Comments on Alibaba's Claim of Vindication in Dispute with Chinese Agency
Partner Elizabeth Chen spoke to CNC as well as Xinhua News Agency regarding the claim by Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), China’s biggest e-commerce company, of ‘vindication’ in a dispute with a Chinese government agency over alleged sales of counterfeit goods on its sales platforms. Alibaba is working with regulators to police counterfeit products.
Last week, China's State Administration for Industry and Commerce (SAIC) appeared to play down a “White Paper” accusing the company of allowing the sales of fakes on its platform. SAIC said that the statement was an account of a conversation between SAIC and Alibaba and not a formal white paper.
Chen believes the definition of the "White Paper" given by the SAIC has fundamentally changed the nature of the issue. The question is whether Alibaba should have disclosed specifically in its IPO prospectus that the SAIC had provided its administrative guidance to Alibaba and expressed its concern on the fake and counterfeit products circulated on Alibaba’s platform or if it is just a routine conversation between the two parties among thousands of administrative inspections every year in China. Consequently, the interpretation of the nature of the"White Paper" is of utmost importance.
"As a listed company, everyone that holds executive-level positions must understand how his or her conduct might impact the company. The incident serves as a lesson to all China-based companies listed in the U.S. Pick yourself up from where you fell, so as to smooth the way for future development." said Chen.
Please note this content is in Chinese (Mandarin). To view the video interview, please click here. For the article, please click here.
