[ad_1]
An Ant Group logo is seen at the company’s headquarters on October 9, 2020 in Hangzhou, China’s Zhejiang province.
Ding Junhao | Visual China Group | fake images
SHANGHAI, China – Ant Group’s initial public offering (IPO) that set a world record in Shanghai and Hong Kong was suspended.
The Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges made the announcement on Tuesday. Alibaba, which owns about a 33% stake in Ant Group, saw its shares fall more than 8% in pre-market trading.
Ant Group controller Jack Ma, CEO Eric Jing and CEO Simon Hu were summoned and interviewed by regulators in China, according to a statement from the China Securities Regulatory Commission on Monday.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Shanghai Stock Exchange referenced this meeting to explain why it suspended the IPO.
“Recently, the controller, president and CEO of your company have been jointly summoned and interviewed by the relevant regulatory authorities,” the stock exchange said, according to a CNBC translation of his comments into Mandarin.
“Your business has also reported significant issues, such as changes in the financial technology regulatory environment. These issues can cause your business to fail to meet public listing or disclosure requirements.”
As a result, the Shanghai Stock Exchange decided to suspend the listing of the company on the Science and Technology Innovation Board, also known as STAR Market. That’s China’s Nasdaq-style heavy tech market.
Shortly after, Ant Group issued a statement saying that the listing of Hong Kong shares will also be suspended.
Ant Group was preparing to raise just under $ 34.5 billion in what would have been the world’s largest public listing. He was planning a double listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong on November 5. It is unclear at this stage whether the Hong Kong leg will continue as planned.
A spokesperson for Ant Group was not immediately available for comment. An official presentation on the Shanghai Stock Exchange is expected soon.
On Monday, the Chinese central bank and regulators issued a new draft of rules for online microloans, which could affect Ant Group.
In a statement, an Alibaba spokesperson said the company would support Ant Group through regulatory hurdles.
“We will be proactive in supporting Ant Group to adapt and adopt the evolving regulatory framework,” the spokesperson said. “We have full confidence in the ability of Ant Group colleagues to do a good job. Society has high expectations for Alibaba. We will continue to work hard not only to meet, but to exceed expectations and fulfill our responsibility to society.”
