China Merchants Bank Co. and other state-backed lenders have emerged as the biggest winners from new regulations that derailed Ant Group Co.’s massive stock listing, as China aims to level the playing field between fintech giants and traditional banks.
Merchants Bank, known as the retail bank king in China, has soared 19% in Hong Kong this month to a record high, its biggest seven-day advance in more than five years. Other Chinese lenders gained, including Agricultural Bank of China Ltd., while Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., an affiliate and one-third shareholder of Ant, lost 6%.
