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The head of the Chinese fintech company Ant Group, which was prevented from listing in November by the country’s central bank, said in a memo to employees seen by The Wall Street Journal that the company will “certainly” become public.
- “I’m fully confident in that,” wrote Ant’s executive chairman Eric Jing, however adding that the company would first work to comply with authorities’ requirements.
- According to the Financial Times, Jack Ma, the founder and controlling owner of Ant’s parent company Alibaba, has been reluctant to share much of consumer data with the Chinese central bank as requested by authorities. Ant’s Alipay app is China’s largest payment platform.
- Chinese officials cited antitrust issues when they halted Ant’s initial public offering last year days before the planned $37 billion listing in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Ma had criticized the Chinese regulatory system a few days before.
- Ma and his family lost their standing as China’s wealthiest since his problem with the government started, according to a list published on Tuesday. They are now trailing in fourth place, with a fortune estimated at $55.6 billion.
From the archives (January 2021): Alibaba founder Jack Ma appears for first time in months
