China Considers Requiring Ant to Sell Finance Investments, Source Says
- Ant Group could be pushed to divest some finance-linked stakes
- Holding firm’s minority stakes now can’t exceed 15% of assets
The Ant Group Co. headquarters in Hangzhou.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Chinese regulators are studying plans to force Ant Group Co. to divest equity investments in some financial companies, curbing the company’s influence over the sector, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The plans, which would involve pushing Ant to sell some of its minority shares in operations such as banking-related businesses, are part of a push by watchdog agencies to regulate so-called financial holding companies, the person said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. An Ant spokesperson declined to comment on Thursday.