China's commerce ministry has fined a unit of Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group 200,000 yuan for acquiring a stake in a Suzhou-based firm without government approval.

The Ministry of Commerce said on its website on Tuesday that the fine was due to a deal Fosun Pharma Industrial Development Co Ltd made in 2014 to acquire a 65 percent stake in Suzhou Erye Pharma.

The Fosun Pharma unit had already transferred a 35 percent stake in the firm to itself before it obtained government approval for the transaction, violating anti-monopoly laws, the ministry said.