Alibaba Group Holding Ltd was fined a record of 18 billion yuan ($2.75 billion) by China on Saturday. It followed an anti-monopoly investigation that found the e-commerce giant had exploited its dominant market position for many years.

The penalty amounts to around 4% of Alibaba's domestic sales in 2019. It comes amid an assault on software corporations and signals that China's antitrust compliance on internet platforms has reached a new age after years of laxity.

Since billionaire founder Jack Ma's stinging public criticism of China's regulatory framework in October, the Alibaba business empire has been under intense surveillance in China since then.

Authorities canceled a proposed $37 billion IPO by Ant Group, Alibaba's internet finance arm, a month later, which was set to be the world's largest-ever finance so far. In December, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) declared an antitrust investigation into the business.

Although the penalty takes Alibaba one step closer to resolving its monopoly issues, Ant still needs to commit to a regulatory-driven overhaul that will reduce its valuations and reel in some of its more rogue companies.

“For the time being, the market will regard this compensation as bringing the anti-monopoly case to a close. It is without any doubt China's most high-profile anti-monopoly case,” said Hong Hao, head of research at BOCOM International in Hong Kong.

“The market has been expecting some kind of penalty for some time... but people must pay attention to the steps taken in addition to the anti-monopoly inquiry.”