The majority of the major issues with financial platform businesses like Ant Group and Tencent have been fixed, according to the central bank’s statement.
A crackdown on the industry that had destroyed billions in market value and halted the largest initial public offering in history came to an end when China fined tech giants Ant Group Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. more than $1 billion.
Following more than two years of investigations into the finance technology company founded by billionaire Jack Ma, the People’s Bank of China reported that financial regulators fined Ant 7.12 billion yuan ($984 million). A 2.99 billion yuan fine was imposed against Tencent, according to statements made by the central bank on Friday.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., a subsidiary of Tencent and Ant, soared in New York trading. Investors are betting that the fines put an end to the multi-year investigation that derailed Ant’s anticipated IPO in 2020 and caught some of the most influential private companies in the country in industries like gaming and online education. It opens up opportunities for Ant to revive growth and eventually revive IPO plans.
Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privee, said of Ant, “The market likes it because scrutiny looks likely to be over and the fine, though big in absolute terms, is very manageable for such a big company.” The tax is lower than Ant’s 9.6 billion yuan profit from the third quarter of 2018.
Alibaba increased by 8% to $90.55, the most in more than three months, boosting other Chinese stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange. TAL Education Group gained 7%, while Tencent increased by 4%.
Ant Group and its affiliates were fined by the People’s Bank of China for breaking regulations pertaining to anti-money laundering, payment and settlement activities, and financial consumer protection. Ant has finished the correction that China’s financial authorities required. An easing of restrictions on Ant would show support from decision-makers for the high-profile victim of President Xi Jinping’s crackdown, the tech giant.
One of the most closely watched developments in recent years on the global markets has been the Communist Party’s changing attitude toward the private sector, with some observers even declaring China’s expansive internet sector uninvest able.
Thomas Chong and other Jefferies analysts wrote in a note that “the decision addresses market concerns about fintech and the overall Internet sector.” It “removes overhang,” they claimed, from Alibaba’s stock.
The majority of the major issues with financial platform businesses like Ant Group and Tencent have been fixed, according to the central bank’s statement.
While its affiliated company Alibaba is in the process of splitting into six main businesses, ranging from cloud services to meal delivery and logistics, Ant’s bottom line has declined since the days when it was gearing up for the world’s largest IPO in 2020.
Although the potential for value creation was initially applauded by investors, Alibaba’s shares have fallen from their 2023 highs and have lost more than $600 billion of their value since the Ant episode started.
Given the issues discovered during earlier law enforcement inspections, penalties were also handed out to PICC Property & Casualty Co., Postal Savings Bank of China Co., and Ping An Bank Co., according to the statement. Why Tencent was also penalised is unknown.
Since 2022, the executives of the WeChat operator have emphasised numerous times that their financial businesses are fully compliant with the law and that they are in constant contact with Beijing.
Tencent said in a statement that it sees no negative effects from the fine and anticipates that China will move forward with “normalised regulation.”
Ant co-founder Ma returned to China in March to showcase government support for private entrepreneurs. The move follows Ma’s decision to cede control of Ant in January, holding 6.2% voting rights.
The Communist Party chief of Hangzhou city praised Ant for adhering to the party’s leadership and required local government departments to address issues raised by the fintech company.
Ant has no plans for an IPO and is focusing on its business. Chinese regulators halted Ant’s IPO over two years ago, causing shockwaves across global capital markets.
New rules have been imposed on the fintech giant, which operates in consumer lending, wealth management, and online payments. The central bank ordered Ant to fold all financial units into a holding company, open up its payments app to competitors, and remove improper linking of payments with other products.
China’s recent measures do not imply a return to low-regulation growth, according to Martin Chorzempa, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. Instead, they are a permanent installation of a higher regulatory barrier for the financial technology sector.
Authorities have struggled to determine the role of big technology firms in the sector. Companies can’t list domestically on the A-share market if they have changed control in the past three years, or in the past two years if listing on Shanghai’s STAR market.
Hong Kong’s stock exchange has a one-year waiting period for IPOs. Ant’s valuation may change if it goes public again. Despite a $280 billion valuation pre-IPO, regulations have made it worth less due to its focus on finance rather than technology. Ant could spin out businesses like blockchain technology, OceanBase database, and global services. These deliberations are preliminary and subject to change.