BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s ant group on Friday signaled a set of financial self-discipline rules amid intense control over its activities by authorities and the tightening of the country’s financial technology regulations.
The rules, the first of their kind publicly launched by the financial technology giant, appear about four months after China suspended the group’s $ 37 billion plan to list shares in both Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Chinese regulators have tightened control over fintech companies amid concerns about systemic financial risks posed by the financial empire affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
In response to intense regulatory pressure, the group continued its operations, taking steps to align its capital requirements with those of banks and transforming itself into a financial holding company.
In a statement, Ant said its consumer lending platforms should not lend to minors and should prevent small business lending from flowing into stock and property markets.
The group’s Zhima Credit credit rating service will also not be available to financial institutions, including microloan lenders, without developing the specific risk of such collaborations.
As a reflection of the tough position of regulators on financial risks, Guo Shuqing, head of China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, warned last week that bubble risk is a key issue facing the real estate sector in China. China.
Regarding the restructuring of Ant’s business, Guo said that there are no restrictions on the financial business he develops, but that all his financial activities should be regulated by law.
Earlier, Ant lowered its loan limits for some young users of its Huabei virtual card product. Reducing the credit limit is meant to promote more “rational” spending habits among users, he said.
Reporting by Cheng Leng, Yingzhi Yang and Ryan Woo; Edited by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman