Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Ant Group reaches agreement with regulators on overhaul

Ant Group reaches agreement with regulators on overhaul

An agreement between Ant Group and the regulators would lift a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the company and from across the financial technology industry.

China’s financial regulators and Ant Group, controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, have agreed a plan to overhaul the planet’s largest financial technology company, according to people familiar with the matter.

The scheme involves Ant Group placing its major businesses into a financial holding company overseen by Beijing-based watchdogs, including its fabulously lucrative credit origination platform, its investment technology unit and its budding insurance operations, the people familiar said.

An official announcement could come as early as next week, but its timing is dependent on formal sign-offs in Beijing. An agreement between Ant Group
and the regulators would lift a cloud of uncertainty hanging over the firm’s day-to-day operations and from across the fintech industry. However, more robust regulations and higher compliance costs will curb growth at one of the world’s most valuable unicorns.

Ant Group operates mobile payments app Alipay.


Regulators abruptly shelved Ant Group’s US$34.5 billion dual listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong on November 3, over concerns that the Hangzhou-based firm posed a systemic risk to the country’s financial system and was in breach of consumers’ privacy. Soon afterwards, Beijing unleashed a raft of new fintech regulations and an antitrust inquiry into the country’s technology sector.

Ant Group, which operates the ubiquitous Alipay mobile payments platform, has been preparing to restructure its businesses to comply with the new rules since even before launching its initial public offering (IPO). An Ant Group spokesman declined to comment on the firm’s discussions with regulators.

Ant Group said in its IPO prospectus that it planned to use a subsidiary, Zhejiang Finance, to satisfy a requirement by regulators outlined on September 11 that fintech companies set up a financial holding company and apply to the central bank to do so by November 1.

Housing its financial operations in the holding company would mean they would be subject to rules similar to commercial banks, such as on how Ant Group sources and uses funds, maintaining a fat capital buffer, putting in place risk management systems and showing that it can protect consumers’ data from hacks and leaks.

A slew of new rules governing fintech means Ant Group is likely to apply for additional licences or reapply for existing licences when the final version of China’s fintech regulatory overhaul is published.

Ant Group named Li Chen as its chief compliance officer in November, a person familiar with the matter said earlier.

Beijing relies heavily on state-controlled banks to steer its still-developing economy, and China’s financial watchdogs are familiar with how to regulate traditional lenders. In the eyes of these regulators, keeping a closer eye on Ant Group and treating it more like a bank than a technology platform reduces the threat of disruption and stops the upstart from exploiting loopholes in their web of control.

Signs of a growing understanding between Ant Group and regulators have emerged over the past month. Yi Gang, the governor of China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), hinted on January 26 that Ant Group could be allowed to pursue an IPO once it fully complies with the country’s laws and has addressed customer complaints.

Alibaba Group Holding, which owns a third of Ant Group, said on Tuesday that due to significant changes in the fintech regulatory environment in China, Ant Group is in the process of developing its rectification plan. Alibaba also owns the Post.

Ant Group’s business prospects and IPO plans are subject to substantial uncertainties. Currently, we are unable to make a complete and fair assessment of the impact that these changes and uncertainties will have on Alibaba Group. We will update the market once Ant Group has completed the relevant regulatory procedures for its rectification plan,” it said.

Ant Group had set up a working group to rectify its business practices and was drawing up a timetable for the changes under the guidance of regulators, Chen Yulu, a deputy governor of the PBOC, said on January 8.

When Ant Group’s size and influence in financial services became clear during its IPO marketing and road show, regulators fretted that any disruption in its services could pose a systemic risk to China’s financial stability and undermine the country’s sprawling banks.

Regulators also fretted that an influx of foreign investors into Ant Group’s capital structure would make it harder to control, according to people familiar with the matter at the time.

Ant Group’s slick mobile payment app, Alipay, has more than 1 billion users, making it the world’s most popular app outside social-media network.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
×