Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Oct 21, 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
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
×