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Ant Group Suspension of Listing Expert: The regulatory decision is well founded and it is the responsibility of protecting investors.
The Ant Group IPO, which was driving at high speed before, yesterday hit the “pause button” simultaneously in the A and H share markets.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (hereinafter referred to as “Shanghai Stock Exchange”) issued an announcement on the evening of November 3 stating that the science and technology innovation board of Ant Technology Group Co., Ltd. (en hereinafter “Grupo Ant”) was temporarily suspended.
On the evening of the same day, Ant Group announced on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that it would suspend the listing of H shares. According to the announcement, “Ant Group announced today (November 3) that it has been notified by regulators in mainland China. Due to the fact that the actual controller, the CEO and the general manager of the company have been supervised and interviewed and the financial technology regulatory environment has changed and other major issues, it may cause the company to fail to comply with the relevant issuance and listing conditions or information disclosure requirements, for which it has decided to suspend the listing of the company’s A shares in the Scientific and Technological Innovation Council. Therefore, the simultaneous listing of the H shares and the main board of directors of the Stock Exchange “.
On the night of November 3, Ant Group also launched “To Investors” on its official WeChat platform, apologizing for the problems caused by the suspension of the A and H share listing plans for investors, and will follow the rules. relevant of the two bags. And properly handle follow-up work.
Zhang Zixue, a professor at the Faculty of Civil and Business Economics at the China University of Political Science and Law, believes that the exchange’s decision to suspend Ant Group’s listing is necessary, reasonable and legal.
Suspension is determined by law
According to the analysis of high-level experts, according to the relevant laws and regulations, the review and registration of the Sci-tech Innovation Board is divided into two stages, namely the issuance and listing review stage of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the issuance and registration stage of the China Securities Regulatory Commission. First, the suspension of Ant Group’s listing by the Shanghai Stock Exchange is based on the law and is more conducive to protecting the rights and interests of investors. Second, Ant Group’s previous emissions registration and review procedures were carried out in accordance with laws and regulations.
According to the announcement of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, recently, the relevant departments conducted supervisory interviews with the actual controller, the president and the general manager of Ant Group. Ant Group also reported changes to the financial technology regulatory environment and other major issues. This important event may cause Ant Group to fail to comply with the issuance and listing conditions or the disclosure requirements. Pursuant to Article 26 of the “Administrative Measures for Registration and Management of Initial Public Offerings in the Scientific and Technological Innovation Board (Test)” and Article 60 of the “Shanghai Stock Exchange Rules for the review of the issuance and listing of shares “, and requesting the opinions of the sponsors, the SSE decided The group suspended its listing.
Article 26 of the “Administrative Measures for Registration and Administration of Initial Public Offerings in the Scientific and Technological Innovation Board (Test)” stipulates that after the China Securities Regulatory Commission makes a registration decision and before If the issuer’s shares are listed and traded, the issuer and sponsor will promptly report Exchange Report. The exchange will deal with the above matters in a timely manner and issue clear opinions and report to the China Securities Regulatory Commission in a timely manner if it finds that the issuer has significant issues affecting the issuance conditions and listing conditions.
Article 60 of the “Shanghai Stock Exchange Review Rules for Issuance and Listing of Shares” stipulates that after the China Securities Regulatory Commission makes the registration decision before the shares are listed and listed negotiate, important events occur that may cause the issuer not to comply with the issuance conditions, the listing conditions or the information disclosure requirements. The issuer will suspend the issue, if it has already been issued, the listing will be suspended. If the Shanghai Stock Exchange discovers that the issuer has the above-mentioned circumstances, it has the right to request that the issuer suspend the listing. The issuer and its sponsor will report the above situation to the Shanghai Stock Exchange in a timely manner and make an announcement, indicating the relevant situation of the significant issues and the issuer’s suspension of issuance and suspension of listing.
Furthermore, Ant Group’s IPO registration approval announced on the official website of the China Securities Regulatory Commission on October 21 has also clarified that, from the registration approval date to the end of the share issue, the issuer must report to the Shanghai Stock Exchange in a timely manner and follow the relevant regulations. deal with.
Ding Meng, an economist at the Bank of China Financial Research Institute in Hong Kong, said in an interview with a Financial Times reporter that, whether from the perspective of the rules and regulations of the science and technology innovation board or the foreign common practice, when a company discloses changes in important matters on the eve of its listing, the listing will be suspended. The decisions are well founded. As investors’ decision to subscribe or not and the amount to subscribe will be affected by these major changes, it is necessary to postpone listing from the perspective of investor protection.
Dong Dengxin, director of the Institute of Financial Securities at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, said in an interview with a Financial Times reporter that according to the rules already announced by the Science and Technology Innovation Board, the suspension of Ant Group’s IPO is a right on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. In the next step, companies must communicate more with supervisory authorities and disclose information in accordance with regulations.
To protect investors’ right to know
Ant Group’s suspension of listing has sparked heated discussions among all parties, especially discussion about the disclosure of information and investor protection under the registry system.
At present, Ant Group has completed the listing price and there are many investors participating in the initial investigation. The suspension of trading will undoubtedly involve the short-term economic interests of many investors. After listing on the secondary market, there will be a broader range of investors participating in the transaction. But the key point is that the registration system for the issuance of shares in the Sci-Tech Innovation Board is based on the disclosure of information. Information disclosure is an important system that ensures that the market operates under the registry system and conforms to the “open, fair and equitable” capital market. Therefore, it should be based on the relevant regulations of the registry system. , Fully disclose important issues that affect investor decision-making.
In fact, while meeting reasonable financing needs through the capital market, companies must fully safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of small and medium investors with relevant parties. Zhang Zixue believes that the exchange’s decision to suspend Ant Group’s listing based on a series of recent events is the responsibility of supervision and a responsible approach.
The registration system entrusts the right of choice to the market, so the right of investors to know must be fully protected. Ding Meng told reporters that from the information released by Ant, due to the characteristics of the company and the industry, changes in the financial technology regulatory environment will have a major impact on Ant’s own operations. In fact , different operating environments and regulatory conditions such as financial technology will have a significant impact on corporate valuations. For example, whether in China or in the international market, the average valuation multiple of financial companies is lower than that of technology companies. From this perspective, it is necessary to clearly define whether changes in the financial technology regulatory environment will reflect more financial or technological characteristics for the future operation of companies.
“For a large-scale listing like Ant, it is even more necessary to follow the investor protection requirements when so many small and medium investors are involved, and wait for the company to reveal the latest situation,” Ding Meng told reporters.
To protect the rights and interests of investors, it is necessary to minimize information asymmetry between investors and listed companies, and the main way to reduce information asymmetry is through information disclosure. Analysts believe the suspension of Ant Group’s listing is due to regulatory authorities, in accordance with relevant registry system regulations, requiring companies to be listed to take practical action to increase the transparency of the charter. and disclosure.
“If a good company can stand the test, the suspension of the IPO is only temporary. As long as it is fully communicated and understood, it will eventually disappear, so investors must wait patiently,” Dong Dengxin told reporters.
