Ant March Stopped: What Our Frozen IPO Says About China Business | China News

It is going to be the largest public share sale so far, making it China Ant’s most important international debut, promoting the financial-tech company and ready to list the prestige of the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges.

Until, that is, the Chinese government halted Ant’s initial public offering march.

Officially, Ant Group’s b $ 35 billion IPO has been suspended from compliance with Chinese government regulations effective November 1, including resolving capital deficiencies.

Unofficially, analysts consider the postponement to be the second richest man in the country by Chinese President Xi Jinping ant founder Jack Ma. The suspension came just days after the Chinese Communist Party spoke out against our handling of the economy.

As the fall continues, investors are seeing what Ant’s fate is for international businesses in China’s jurisdiction. Here’s what you need to know.

Psst, this is awkward, but what is an ant group?

Ant eBook, the financial arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba, launched the site in 2004 as a way to process payments. The Ant Alipay app now has over 730 million users in China, who use it to pay bills, shop and send money to friends. Ant services also include insurance, loans and property management.

So is it a financial services company?

That is part of the debate. We argue that the ant is “Techfin” instead of “Fintech” clothing. The company recently changed its name from Ant Financial to Ant Group.

Techfin, Fintech – Coming Again?

Ant claims that it is a technology company that works with financial institutions, which means that it gets less regulations and more freedom under Chinese rules.

But the financial model of ant that connects China financial regulators lenders and borrowers comes squarely under their supervision. That’s where Ant’s IPO train started coming from the tracks.

So what happened?

Ant initially stepped towards its November 5 IPO and attracted a lot of investors in the process – with $ 3 trillion in orders for its dual list in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Ant’s IPO b for SoundArabia’s oil giant Aranco b is also expected to realize a $ 29 billion IPO, the largest public share sale in the world so far. But then a 56-year-old former English teacher called into our principal’s office.

O Ho. Why?

Speaking at a Bund meeting in Shanghai on October 24, Ma Opened The world “focuses only on risk control, not development, and they seldom see opportunities for youth and developing countries.”

Financial regulators are seen as a kind of club for seniors who want to play very safely, and we are of the opinion that this is not good for “young” economies like China.

Doesn’t look so bad.

The conference keynote speaker, China Vice President Wang Kishan, came after us with these comments. Note more carefully, China “Excessive ulation deviates from self-strengthening cycles of hoaxes, financial bubbles and ponzi schemes.”

Manu was summoned to Beijing on November 2 for a meeting with government officials. The next day, the ant list was removed from the Shanghai Stock Exchange.

Uchch. What is the official reason?

Chinese regulators have called the company’s leadership for “oversight interviews with relevant departments”, citing changes in the financial technology regulatory environment and other major issues in a statement announcing the IPO suspension of the Shanghai Stock Exchange Ant.

The whole thing is what is our cost?

Bloomberg reports that our stake in Alibaba Group Holdings, which owns a stake in Ant, fell to about $ 3 billion after the IPO was postponed. The company is now working to implement the guidelines from that Beijing conference, so it can go back there.

But Bloomberg reports that the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission may also impose new regulations on ant credit platforms, citing familiar sources, which means our headaches are far from over.

Well, for now, the ant is marching. But is there a permanent fall?

Probably. The Chinese government seems to be sending a clear signal that it is not afraid to step down and dissolve the party when a private company does not play by its rules. It could motivate investors interested in entering the world’s second-largest economy – but not interested in adhering to the Communist Party hierarchy.