Ant Group reaches deal with China’s financial regulators on business overhaul – sources
- Ant Group is likely to place credit, investment and insurance platforms in a holding company overseen by Beijing-based watchdogs
- Regulators shelved Ant Group’s US$34.5 billion IPO on November 3 over systemic risk and privacy concerns
China’s financial regulators and Ant Group, controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, have agreed a plan to overhaul the planet’s largest financial technology company, according to people familiar with the matter.
The scheme involves Ant Group placing its major businesses into a financial holding company overseen by Beijing-based watchdogs, including its fabulously lucrative credit origination platform, its investment technology unit and its budding insurance operations, the people familiar said.
Regulators abruptly shelved Ant Group’s US$34.5 billion dual listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong on November 3, over concerns that the Hangzhou-based firm posed a systemic risk to the country’s financial system and was in breach of consumers’ privacy. Soon afterwards, Beijing unleashed a raft of new fintech regulations and an antitrust inquiry into the country’s technology sector.
