Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.Chinese fintech firm Ant Group's massive $34 billion IPO has been suspended in what has become a rapid unraveling of a hotly anticipated event, and it may be due to a speech made by founder Jack Ma.
The regulatory system was stifling innovation and must be reformed to fuel growth, billionaire Ma told a summit in Shanghai on Oct. 24 attended by the great and the good of China's financial, regulatory and political establishment.It was this speech that set off a chain of events that ultimately torpedoed the listing of Ant, the fintech titan Ma founded, according to interviews with government officials, company executives and investors.
Several senior financial regulatory officials were furious at Ma's criticism, two sources told Reuters, with one source characterizing the speech as a "punch in their faces". Ma could not immediately be reached by Reuters for comment and e-commerce group Alibaba, which handles media inquiries for Ma, did not respond to a request for comment on this story from its lead founder.
When the PBOC tried to regulate Ant's payment and wealth management business about five years ago, Ma bypassed the central bank after failing to reach a consensus with regulatory officials and lobbied the central government. The PBOC later dropped those regulation plans. Even before Ma's speech, Chinese regulators were gradually increasing their oversight of Ant, which has largely thrived as a technology platform free from costly banking regulations despite its bouquet of financial offerings.
As part of this drive, regulatory officials rushed to publish a consultation paper this Monday to tighten rules for the country's micro-lending business, which directly impacts Ant, said one person with direct knowledge. Ant's spokeswoman said the company was not aware of the details of the draft online micro-lending rules until they were published on Monday.After the publication of the micro-lending consultation paper, Ma and the two top Ant executives were summoned to a rare joint meeting with four regulatory bodies.