Authorities have officially conducted an anti-monopoly probe into e-commerce giant Alibaba Group and are about to summon its affiliate Ant Group for a financial regulations meeting, the latest moves to curtail antitrust practices and prevent the "disorderly expansion of capital" that Beijing has been advocating.

The State Administration for Market Regulation has kicked off an investigation into Alibaba for alleged monopoly conduct, including implementing an "exclusive dealing agreement", Xinhua reported on Thursday.

The issue largely refers to the practice for the online platform operator to force merchants to choose one of two sites to sell their products instead of being eligible to work with both, potentially crowding out competitors.

In a statement on Thursday, Alibaba said it will actively cooperate with the investigation, and all business remains normal.