Beijing: China`s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, the world`s largest e-commerce company, spent over 1 billion yuan ($160.7 million) combating fake goods and for improving customer protection from the beginning of 2013 to the end of November, the firm said Tuesday.
"From Alibaba Group`s perspective, we bear a serious responsibility in this fight against counterfeits," said Alibaba Chief Executive Jonathan Lu in a statement.
Alibaba has been tackling counterfeit products with greater aggression in recent years, particularly in the run up to its record-setting $25 billion listing in New York in September.
A prevalence of counterfeits could hurt its ability to win over customers, investors and U.S. retail partners, the company said in its IPO prospectus.
Just a few years ago Alibaba`s businesses were listed on the U.S. Trade Representative`s list of "notorious markets" for intellectual property (IP) infringement.
But online fakes are still a big problem in China. In November, Chinese e-commerce companies held the annual Singles` Day online shopping festival, created by Alibaba and featuring many discounted products. That day, Alibaba reported more than $9 billion in sales.
The official State Administration of Industry and Commerce (SAIC) conducted an investigation on counterfeits on Singles` Day. It found 10.6 percent of the goods that it bought online from various vendors and platforms were fake or highly suspicious.