According to P Te investor Mark Mobius, founder of Mobius Capital Partners, the suspension of Ant Group’s initial public offering (IPO) is a sign of the times.
Ant, Jack Mani is associated with Alibaba, last Thursday in Shanghai and Hong Kong.43.44 billion was ready for dual listing.
Ant runs Ellipse, one of the most popular mobile payment systems in China. It provides everything from asset management to micro loans, and sells financial technology to enterprises.
But Fintech Pay firm’s IPO, which would be the largest ever, was pulled at the last minute after Chinese authorities said there were “big issues” on the list.
I believe the Chinese government took the step because they realized they had to regulate these companies so that they would not get too big.
On a virtual panel at CNBC’s East Tech West conference, Mobius said the Chinese government is aware of the fact that it cannot approve certain companies, especially those that dominate the financial sector.
“I think the Chinese government took the step because they realized they had to regulate these companies so that they wouldn’t get too big,” he said. He added that other emerging markets have similar concerns. “A lot of them have to do with privacy and other factors.”
Asked if he thinks ants are a separate case, Mobius said “definitely not” and warned that the Chinese government could consider increasingly controlling the tech industry.
“As you know, in China that field has grown by leaps and bounds,” he said. “And now I believe the government has realized that they are not letting this get out of hand, as it would jeopardize the entire financial structure.”
Changing the world of payment
Speaking at the same panel, Douglas Flint, chairman of Asset Manager Standard Life Aberdeen, said the need for central banks and regulators to control financial stability has been suggested by the Ant Ant IPO suspension.
He published how many payments, money transfers and investments have been made online today.
“It’s good for consumers and good for competition and good for reducing intermediary costs. I think regulators and policymakers are panicking because of the scale of dominance, which can happen,” he said. “I think there is an issue of economic stability which is why IPOs are being pulled back.”
While some companies seem to be worried about China getting too big, it is keen to scale others quickly in various industries.
Fina Frick, CEO of Asset Manager Union, said on the same panel that China wants to be “more independent” in some areas of tech, citing the semiconductor industry as an example.
Going forward, he said his firm is more positive in emerging markets than in Europe, especially in Asia. “They are managing their covid crisis better than we are,” he said, adding that he is particularly positive about tech in these countries.
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