How Jack Ma’s Ant Group Is Inching Toward IPO Reboot

Almost three years ago, Chinese regulators torpedoed what would have been a record initial public offering by financial technology giant Ant Group Co., sending shock waves across global capital markets. They imposed new rules that curbed the power of a business with operations that spanned consumer lending, wealth management and online payments. The crackdown appeared to be nearing an end in July, when the authorities issued Ant with a fine of almost $1 billion. With its founder Jack Ma, China’s most-famous entrepreneur, now ceding control, investors are wondering if Ant will one day get another chance at going public.

In November 2020, regulators swooped in at the last minute to block the IPO and later the government ordered the company to overhaul its sprawling operations. The authorities had decided that China’s tech giants — sprawling businesses that were able to corral data from hundreds of millions of users — had become too powerful and it was time for the government to assert control. Part of that involved curbing the push of technology firms into finance. Ma may have helped to precipitate the crackdown with comments made ahead of the canceled IPO in which he critiqued China’s approach to regulation. The crackdown has ended partly because the government is anxious to revive investment and stimulate a sluggish economy.