Jack Ma defends Alibaba amid criticism about fake products

Hong Kong

ALIBABA founder Jack Ma has defended his company's reputation after authorities accused it of allowing "illegal" actions on its multi-billion-dollar online shopping platform, saying he does not want it to be seen as a hub for fake products.

The Chinese billionaire spoke out after a powerful Beijing regulator delivered an unusual dressing-down of the prominent company, publishing a survey saying only about a third of products sampled from Alibaba's consumer-to-consumer marketplace Taobao were genuine.