Ant Group Co., the financial technology giant controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, will apply to become a financial holding company supervised by China’s central bank, reviewing its business to adapt to a new era of stricter regulation for companies of Internet.
In a statement, the People’s Bank of China said ants’ representatives were summoned Monday to a meeting with four regulators, which also included banking, securities and foreign exchange supervisors in the country. In the last few months, a “comprehensive, viable rectification plan” has been formulated for Ant, under the supervision of regulators.
The directive follows an intense regulatory attack on Mr Ma’s business empire, which began with the suspension of the company’s initial successful public offering in November. Ant was on the verge of selling more than $ 34 billion worth of shares and listing on the Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges, when Beijing ended the transaction after Mr Ma criticized financial regulators in a public speech.
In January, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ant intends to fall fully in line with China’s financial regulations, becoming a financial holding company, a relatively new name for companies with substantial financial assets.
Ant, which owns the ubiquitous mobile payment and lifestyle app Alipay, will need to correct what regulators have called unfair competition in its payment business and improve its corporate governance. The Hangzhou-based company will have to reduce the liquidity risks of its investment products and reduce the assets under the management of Yu’e Bao, its giant money market fund. Ant will also be forced to break an “information monopoly” on the vast and detailed data collected by consumers, the central bank said.