Chinese regulators, along with Jack Ma and his Ant Group, have reached an agreement that would turn the financial technology company (FinTech) into a financial holding company. That means Ant will operate under rules similar to banks, including stricter capital requirements.
Bloomberg reported Wednesday, February 3, that people familiar with the matter said this would put Ant’s wide-ranging offerings — including in areas like food delivery and blockchain — under the holding company. Ant had earlier proposed that it put only financial operations into a holding company.
An official announcement on the restructuring could come before the start of China’s Lunar New Year holiday next week, Bloomberg said, citing sources who did not want to be identified.
Alibaba Group, which billionaire Jack Ma founded in 1999, owns about one-third of Ant, a spinoff company.
Ant is China’s behemoth payments provider through its digital payments service Alipay. But it is also a major Chinese lender, and that is what attracted regulators’ scrutiny.
Problems with regulators hit full force in November when the Shanghai Stock Exchange acted to delay Ant Group’s plan to go public with a US$34 billion initial public offering (IPO). At the time, Ant was worth an estimated US$316 billion.
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
DOJ and FTC Introduce Website for Reporting Anti-Competitive Healthcare Practices
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
US Congress Advances Legislation to Compel TikTok Sale
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
UK Financial Sector Advocates Enhanced Regulatory Accountability
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Google and All 50 States Defend $700 Million Consumer Settlement
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Colorado Enacts First Law to Protect Consumer Brainwave Data
Apr 18, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Economics of Criminal Antitrust
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Navigating Economic Expert Work in Criminal Antitrust Litigation
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
The Increased Importance of Economics in Cartel Cases
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
A Law and Economics Analysis of the Antitrust Treatment of Physician Collective Price Agreements
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI
Information Exchange In Criminal Antitrust Cases: How Economic Testimony Can Tip The Scales
Apr 19, 2024 by
CPI