Jan 8 (Reuters) – Chinese fintech giant Ant Group said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Sunday that it has no plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO).
“Ant Group has been focusing on business consolidation and optimization, and currently has no plans to go public,” a company spokesman said.
Ant Group said on Saturday that its founder Jack Ma no longer controls the company after he gave up most of his voting rights in a series of equity adjustments.
Ma relinquishes control as Ant is nearing completion of its two-year regulatory-driven restructuring, with Chinese authorities preparing to fine the company more than $1 billion, Reuters reported in November.
China’s domestic A-share market requires companies to wait three years after a change in control before going public. Wait for two years in Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style science and technology innovation board market, and wait for one year in Hong Kong.
Ant Financial’s $37 billion IPO, which was supposed to be the world’s largest, was called off at the last minute in November 2020, forcing the fintech company to restructure and speculation the Chinese billionaire will have to walk away Control.
Reporting by Yingzhi Yang in Shanghai and Rhea Binoy in Bengaluru; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle
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