Ant Group’s mascot image.
Ant Group, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, has been repeatedly “interviewed” by Communist Party regulators and asked to “rectify” its business after its IPO was suspended in early November 2020. In response to market questions about whether Ant can still restart its IPO, Yi Gang, governor of the Communist Party’s central bank, said at the Davos Forum on Tuesday that it will get back on track after the problems are solved. Some analysts believe that the real trouble for Jack Ma and Ant Group may have just begun.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum’s “Davos Agenda” dialogue on Tuesday (Jan. 26), Yi Gang, governor of the Communist Party’s central bank, said that according to the central bank’s survey, user satisfaction with Ant is still high, but there are still problems with consumer privacy.
Yi said, “As long as we adhere to all the legal framework and procedures and conduct extensive consultations with the community, I think we will get back on track after the problems are solved.”
Trouble may just be starting for Jack Ma and Anthem
The Wall Street Journal reported on Jan. 23 that Ma has resurfaced after more than two months out of the public eye, but the real trouble for Ma and his business empire is feared to have just begun.
Investors see Ma’s re-emergence as a favorable sign that he may have regained the goodwill of the Chinese Communist government and that the regulatory storm could be over. However, there appears to be no let-up in CCP regulation. On the same day as Ma’s public appearance, the CCP’s central bank released a draft of regulations for non-bank payment institutions for public comment, and Ant Group’s Alipay is a major player in the field.
The report suggests that Ma’s recent public appearances are just the latest episode in a longer drama, and that the big show is far from over.
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