On the evening of November 3, the publicly-listed Ant Group pressed the "pause button."
Authoritative experts close to the regulatory authorities pointed out to China News Service that the regulatory authorities have decided to suspend the listing of Ant Group at this time. Although it is rare, it is completely in accordance with laws and regulations.
The timely triggering of the post-conference event system further reflects the inherent requirements for the healthy operation of the registration system.
Looking at the newly revised Securities Law in 2019, it can be found that it clarifies the relevant institutional arrangements for the registration system. Article 24 basically retains the original system and stipulates that “the securities regulatory agency of the State Council or the department authorized by the State Council If the decision on the registration of securities issuance is found to be inconsistent with statutory conditions or statutory procedures, and the securities have not yet been issued, it shall be cancelled and the issuance shall be stopped. If the issue has been issued but has not been listed, the issuance registration decision shall be cancelled.
In order to implement the requirements of the Securities Law, it is necessary to promptly discover and deal with major matters that occurred before listing.
To this end, Article 26 of the “Regulations for the Registration and Administration of Initial Public Offerings on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (for Trial Implementation)” stipulates that if a major event occurs after the CSRC makes a registration decision and before the issuer’s shares are listed and traded, the issuer and sponsor shall report to the exchange. Reporting obligations and the exchange’s timely handling duties; Article 27 stipulates the handling measures that the CSRC can take.
At the same time, the "Shanghai Stock Exchange Science and Technology Innovation Board Stock Issuance and Listing Review Rules" further clarified the exchange's responsibilities in handling major matters before listing.
First, if a major event occurs before stocks are listed and traded, the issuer and its sponsor shall report to the exchange in a timely manner, and update the issuance and listing application documents as required; the issuer’s sponsor and securities service agency shall continue to perform due diligence duties , And submit special inspection opinions to the Exchange.
Second, after the listing committee’s deliberation and before the stock’s listing and trading, a major event has occurred that has a major impact on whether the issuer meets the issuance conditions, listing conditions or information disclosure requirements, the issuance and listing review agency of the exchange will decide whether to re-examine after re-examination. Submit to the Listing Committee for deliberation; if resubmitted to the Listing Committee for deliberation, it shall report to the Securities Regulatory Commission.
Third, after the CSRC makes the registration decision and before the stock is listed and traded, if a major event occurs that may cause the issuer to fail to meet the issuance conditions, listing conditions or information disclosure requirements, the issuer shall suspend the issuance; if the issue has already been issued, the listing shall be suspended; If the issuer is found to have the above-mentioned circumstances, it has the right to request the issuer to suspend listing.
It is not difficult to see that the above series of laws and regulations constitute a complete chain of issuance supervision.
It needs to be noticed that one of the cores of the registration system is to enhance inclusiveness, but at the same time, it always emphasizes the use of market-oriented and rule-of-law means to strengthen supervision.
Therefore, the chain of issuance supervision must be complete, and there must be no vacancies or weakening in any link, otherwise the "barrel effect" is prone to occur, bringing risks to the legitimate rights and interests of investors.
Before a company goes public, both the institutional environment and the company itself are in a process of dynamic changes, and various major events that may affect the issuance may occur. The post-conference event system is precisely the mechanism established for these situations.
Recently, the actual controller, chairman and general manager of Ant Group have been jointly conducted supervision interviews by relevant departments, and the financial technology regulatory environment in which they are located is also changing.
The suspension of listing is precisely this series of circumstances that triggered the post-conference event system, which is also a manifestation of the registration system's response to the new situation and its sound operation.
Dong Ximiao, chief researcher of the Zhongguancun Internet Finance Research Institute, also told China News Agency that the regulatory authorities decided to postpone the listing of Ant Group in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations of the registration system at this time, which fully reflects the protection of investors’ interests and the maintenance of the long-term health of the capital market. Ideas for development.
Dong Ximiao believes that the news of Ant Group's listing in the early stage has received widespread attention, and retail investors in the market are swarmingly sought after, leading to the risk of excessive valuation of Ant Group.
The suspension of listing will help to cool down market sentiment and avoid over-valuation in the early stage and damage to investors' interests.
What to do after Ant Group suspended its listing?
The aforementioned authoritative experts pointed out that their issuers and intermediaries should conduct serious inspections of major situations in accordance with the requirements of the registration system, and strictly evaluate whether they meet the issuance and listing conditions and information disclosure requirements, so as to effectively maintain the seriousness and fairness of the registration system.
Author: Wang Enbo