BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s financial regulators on Sunday called on Ant Group to outline a concrete plan as soon as possible to meet regulatory requirements and to fully understand the seriousness of the “rectification” work it has to do.
The central bank, banking institutions, securities and regulators have asked Ant to rectify illegal financial activities, including in its credit, insurance and wealth management business, and to regulate its credit rating activity to protect personal information, the Deputy Governor People’s Bank of China (PBOC) Pan Gongsheng said a day after meeting with representatives of the fintech group.
Ant said in a statement that it will set up a “rectification” working group and fully implement the regulatory requirements.
The state-backed Economic Daily said in a comment that Ant should serve people’s needs and economic development, assuming effective social responsibility.
Chinese regulators abruptly suspended Ant’s planned $ 37 billion public offering last month, which was about to be the largest in the world, just two days before its shares began trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Kong.
On Thursday, authorities said they had launched an antitrust investigation into the parent group Alibaba and would convene Ant, the latest blow to billionaire Jack Ma for e-commerce and the fintech empire.
New requests from PBOC, China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, China Securities Regulatory Commission and Government Administration of Foreign Exchange also include that Ant be more transparent in its third-party payment transactions and not compete. unfair and that should establish Holding companies are in compliance with the law to ensure capital adequacy, Pan said.
China’s annual economic working conference, a gathering of top political leaders and policymakers to set the course for the economy in 2021, promised this month to strengthen antitrust efforts and curb “disorderly capital expansion.”
Pan said Ant needs to step up its risk management and maintain the continuity of its services and the normal operations of its business.
During the hearing, regulators highlighted Ant issues, including poor corporate governance, defiance of regulatory requirements, arbitrary illegal regulation, use of its market advantage to eliminate competitors and harm the legal interests of consumers, he said.
Reporting by Stella Qiu, Cheng Leng, Yilei Sun and Ryan Woo; Mountainous of William Mallard