Two-step

28 December 2020 By Robyn Mak Follow @mak_robyn

Having forced the fintech giant to suspend its IPO, officials laid out demands that will curb growth. The orders are vague and allow for manoeuvre, but a forced break-up is possible. While the government needs Ant to support private firms, that’s scant comfort for investors.

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Regions

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The People’s Bank of China has called for the Ant Group to rectify financial regulatory violations, according to a statement released on Dec. 27.

PBOC Vice Governor Pan Gongsheng said that Ant representatives met a day earlier with officials from the PBOC and other Chinese banking, securities and foreign exchange regulators. During that meeting, Pan said regulators pointed to poor corporate governance, defiance of regulatory demands, illegal regulatory arbitrage, the use of its market advantage to squeeze out competitors, and harming consumers' interests.

Hong Kong-traded shares of Alibaba, which owns a 33% stake in Ant, opened down 5% at HK$216.20 on Dec. 28.

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