Ant suspended a share buyback program for current and departing staff in July to prepare for the IPO
Ant's restructuring plan, which Reuters reported on Wednesday, could ease billionaire founder Jack Ma's regulatory woes
Ant's restructuring plan could ease billionaire founder Jack Ma's regulatory woes
Ma's fintech giant will become a financial holding company
An announcement about the restructuring, which will result in the company being subject to capital requirements similar to those for banks, could come before the start of China's Lunar New Year holida
Ant Group Co has agreed on a restructuring plan with Chinese regulators under which the fintech giant will be turned into a financial holding company, according to Bloomberg News.
While Ma has stepped down from corporate positions and earnings calls, he retains significant influence over Alibaba and Ant
The rules present the strongest and most detailed message yet of regulators' plans to curb monopolistic practices in the online payments industry
Speculation about Ma's whereabouts and his standing with President Xi Jinping's government had reached a fever pitch in recent weeks
Ma, who used to come at least once a month to the bar that was opened by Alibaba executives in early 2019, hasn't been around since late last year, said one worker
Alibaba founder Jack Ma, who also controls Ant, has not been seen in public since Ant's IPO debacle.
Flagship changes like loosening merchant exclusivity might have had more impact several years ago, before competition intensified, but the direction of travel is clear
Over the last year, the government has encouraged the growth of consumer finance companies as well as the existing units of banks that deal in the business
China's highest-profile entrepreneur has not appeared in a public setting since a late October forum in Shanghai
China has been cracking down on anticompetitive behaviour in the country's booming internet sector
Chinese regulators are reviewing equity investments held by Ant Group Co Ltd in dozens of companies, people familiar with the matter said
Chinese regulators on Sunday ordered Ant to devise a plan to overhaul its business, the latest in a series of steps to rein in Ma's online finance empire.
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While Ant's origin story comes from the ubiquitous Alipay service that piggybacked off the success of Alibaba's expanding e-commerce empire, the real money was to be made on all the extras
China's central bank disclosed it had asked Ant Group to shake up its lending and other consumer finance operations, the latest blow to its billionaire founder and controlling shareholder Jack Ma