China suspends record IPO of Ant Group, subsidiary of giant Alibaba

Ant Group logo at the company's headquarters in Hangzhou.

REUTERS / Aly Song /

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A big blow for the Asian giant Alibaba.

48 hours before the IPO of its subsidiary Ant Group, a world leader in online payment, the Shanghai Stock Exchange has decided to suspend its IPO, due to changes in the regulatory environment.

Scheduled for this Thursday, it was a record introduction.

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As soon as the postponement was announced, the stock markets reacted strongly.

Alibaba stock tumbled 7.54% in Hong Kong and 8.13% on Wall Street.

The double listing on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges of Ant Group with its Alipay application was eagerly awaited by investors.

financial services subsidiary,

which has more than 700 million monthly users, was supposed to raise more than $ 34 billion for the occasion.

But the Chinese authorities decided otherwise.

Last Monday, the founder and billionaire of Alibaba, Jack Ma, accompanied by the two leaders of Ant Group were summoned by the central bank and financial market regulators for a “

 ”

interview 

behind closed doors.

They were criticized for failing to meet listing requirements for information disclosure, forcing the billionaire to postpone the deal.

Extend its activity to finance

Very popular with the Chinese, Ant Group has decided to expand its activity into the finance sector, offering personal or consumer loans, wealth management and insurance.

But by investing in this territory, Ant Group is on the way to becoming a strong and influential financial institution.

In addition, it encroaches on the public banking sector, which does not necessarily please the Chinese government.

According to some analysts, this takeover of the fintech sector by Beijing reflects the authorities' concern for the stability of the financial system.

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