Ant has been a force for financial inclusion. Regulator concerns must be weighed against the value that fintech innovations offer to society.
Eyes turned to Jack Ma, Alibaba founder and the largest stakeholder in Ant Group, after the Shanghai Stock Exchange announced it would postpone the group’s mega-IPO. Credit: Greg Beadle/World Economic Forum, Creative Commons
The Chinese fintech conglomerate Ant Group, known for its digital payments and other online financial services, has just been stopped in its tracks, after Chinese regulators suspended its simultaneous public listing, originally scheduled for November 5, on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Stock Exchanges. The suspension is possibly in response to a recent speech by Jack Ma, Ant’s controlling shareholder, who was critical of financial regulations that he believes show insufficient understanding and support for fintech innovation.
The Ant IPO was to be the largest in history, surpassing that of Saudi Aramco ($25.6 billion when first listed last December), and Ant’s first cousin, Alibaba ($25 billion on its New York Stock Exchange debut in 2014). Based on Ant Group’s IPO prospectus, the company aims to raise $34.4 billion (for about 11 percent of its shares). With a total market valuation projected at $313.4 billion, Ant would be the third-largest Chinese-listed company
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