A staff sells shoes through live streaming at an e-commerce warehouse in Putian, southeast China's Fujian Province, May 7, 2020.Photo:Xinhua

Alibaba's Taobao Live said on Wednesday that it will double its live-streaming channel to 2,000 and reach annual sales of 100 million yuan ($15.4 million) each, a move to enhance a comprehensive ecosystem on the platform.

The announcement came after the executive of the group vowed to spend billions of yuan to support merchants in the coming years, following a record $2.8 billion antitrust fine by the government.

Taobao Live said that it will support 2,000 live-stream channels and 200 partners in reaching annual sales of 100 million yuan each, and they will further invest in and develop innovative technologies and services to better support its business partners.

Taobao Live achieved strong growth in user acquisition and stickiness in the past year. The company said in 2020, it saw 100 percent year-on-year growth of its daily active users. 

For the 12 months ended March 31, 2021, more than 1,000 Taobao Live channels generated more than100 million yuan ($15.4 million) in revenues.

Alibaba Group said on April 16 that it has introduced new measures to expedite the entry process and reduce fees for merchants on Taobao and Tmall as part of ongoing merchant support initiatives put in place since the beginning of the year to further strengthen its focus on value creation.

China's regulator on April 10 imposed a fine of 18.23 billion yuan on Alibaba for its violation of anti-monopoly laws. The fine, the largest anti-trust fine ever rolled out by Chinese authorities, accounts for 4 percent of the company's domestic sales in 2019.

The State Administration for Market Regulation also released an administrative guidance, urging Alibaba Group to carry out "comprehensive and profound" rectification of its business operations. 

The e-commerce giant said that it will further strengthen focus on customer value creation and experience, as well as continuing to introduce measures to lower entry barriers and business costs of operating on its platforms.