Jack Ma Is Giving Up Control of Ant. What Does That Mean for Ant’s IPO Reboot?

More than two years ago, Chinese regulators torpedoed Ant Group Co.’s would-be record initial public offering, sending shock waves across global capital markets. New rules have been slapped on the fintech giant, which has operations ranging from consumer lending and wealth management to online payments. The result is that the once-fertile landscape for web-based financial services has drastically changed as part of a government effort to bring the entire technology sector to heel. The next big question for Ant is whether it will get another chance at going public now that billionaire Jack Ma, China’s most-famous entrepreneur, is ceding control.

The most important thing it needs is to set up a financial holding company, like a regular bank. Its application to the central bank for such a license was said to be nearing the final stages back in June. Ant then would need a sign-off from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to list in either Shanghai or Hong Kong (the scotched 2020 plan was to list in both cities simultaneously). While not officially part of the process, in reality it also would need blessings from senior Chinese leaders and a wide range of government agencies. That includes the Financial Stability and Development Committee, which has been led by outgoing Vice Premier Liu He. The central bank and finance ministry are part of this group.