The Shanghai Stock Exchange postponed the massive IPO of Ant Group, a few days after its majority controller, Jack Ma, criticized China’s state-dominated banking system. The exact reasons for the suspension are not yet clear.
Alibaba affiliate Ant Group offers financial services to an enormous population that had previously been neglected by China’s banks, and now the company is set to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai.
Ant Group’s listing in Hong Kong likely won’t be completed by the end of October, as originally hoped, due to scrutiny from Chinese regulators. The IPO is unlikely to be derailed, but Ant could soon be the target of largely symbolic sanctions by the Trump administration.
Ant Group, the Alibaba-affiliated financial technology giant, filed yesterday for a massive IPO on both the Hong Kong and Shanghai STAR stock markets. It is estimated to be worth more than $200 billion, meaning its listing could be one of the biggest in history.
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange used to lean on its finance and banking sector, but political turmoil has forced it to change. The exchange may have found salvation in China’s tech giants that seek refuge as they scurry away from America.
China’s ecommerce market is complex, massive, and highly competitive. Its companies and their business models are completely different from those in other markets, and none of the big American and European players have any real presence. This is a guide to the major Chinese players and their offerings.
Former employees of Chinese internet firms are engaged in a culture war with their colleagues at Microsoft China about work-life balance.
Within days of U.S. Congress questioning American Big Tech companies in an antitrust probe, it looks like China may investigate its own tech giants for anticompetitive practices.
Chinese Lives is a weekly series that looks at notable figures from all eras of Chinese history. This week: Viya, the face of China's “ecommerce livestreaming” boom.