China accuses Alibaba of selling fake goods

Beijing: Chinese regulators have accused e-commerce giant Alibaba of allowing sales of fake and shoddy goods and other mismanagement in a report that was withheld until now to avoid disrupting its U.S. stock market debut.

The report on Wednesday by China’s industrial regulator said Alibaba allowed unlicensed merchants to use its sales platforms and failed to protect consumers’ rights adequately.

The report was the result of a meeting in July but said it was withheld to avoid affecting progress toward Alibaba’s stock market listing in New York. The company went public in September after raising a record $25 billion in an initial public stock offering.

An Alibaba spokesman said the company was preparing a public statement about the report.