Chinese fintech giant Ant Group has been ordered by regulators to drastically change its business model and return to its roots as a payment services provider, as the state squeeze continues on the once unbridled empire of tech tycoon Jack Ma. China’s central bank summoned Ant executives over the weekend and demanded the company “strictly rectify” its lending, insurance and wealth management services, according to a statement released on Sunday. The edict comes just weeks after Ant Group’s record-breaking IPO was halted at the last minute by Beijing, which has been ruthless in its takedown of a company once vaunted as the poster child for Chinese technology. Last Thursday regulators also launched an anti-monopoly investigation into Alibaba - of which Ant Group is a subsidiary - sending the share price of the e-commerce giant tumbling and intensifying the troubles of its billionaire founder Ma.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2020.
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