Jack Ma’s Ant Group Agrees to Restructure After Pressure From China’s Regulators: Report

Chinese regulators have agreed on a restructuring plan with Ant Group that will combine all its business segments, including its blockchain arm, into a financial holding company.

As a financial holding company, Ant would be subject to capital requirements like those for banks, according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter.
The group had previously proposed only including its financial segments in the holding company.
An official announcement on plan is expected before the start of China’s New Year holiday on Feb. 12.
The restructure is part of a Chinese government campaign to increase supervision of the fintech sector.
In November, Ant Group’s expected $35 billion initial public offering was suspended on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges supposedly due to changes in China’s regulatory environment for fintech firms.
Jack Ma, who founded Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Group, had been keeping a low profile since October when he criticized China’s financial system and its state-dominated banking sector at a Shanghai event.
Ant Group has its own blockchain, AntChain, building off it to launch a cross-border trading platform in September.

DISCLOSURE

Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information has been updated.

The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, CoinDesk is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups. As part of their compensation, certain CoinDesk employees, including editorial employees, may receive exposure to DCG equity in the form of stock appreciation rights, which vest over a multi-year period. CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase stock outright in DCG.

Tanzeel Akhtar

Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk’s longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.