US agency probes Alibaba on accounting

The US stock market regulator has opened an investigation into the accounting practices of Chinese online giant Alibaba, a company document showed.

Alibaba said in a regulatory filing that the Securities and Exchange Commission had opened the probe "into whether there have been any violations of the federal securities laws."

Among other things, the SEC sought information into Alibaba's accounting for its Cainiao logistics network and its reporting practices for Singles Day, a huge sales event in China.

"We are voluntarily disclosing this SEC request for information and cooperating with the SEC and, through our legal counsel, have been providing the SEC with requested documents and information," the Alibaba statement said.

It noted that the request for information "should not be construed as an indication by the SEC or its staff that any violation of the federal securities laws has occurred."

Alibaba last year disclosed that it had received a request from both US and Chinese regulators on whether it allowed sales of counterfeit merchandise on its platforms.

Alibaba went public in 2014 with a record stock flotation of 25 billion US dollars in New York and is now considered the world's biggest online retailer. (AFP)