China's crackdown on Jack Ma worsens, pressure mounts on Ant Group to shake up its lending

In latest blow for business magnate Jack Ma, China’s Central Bank has asked his online financial giant Ant Group to shake up it's lending along with or consumer finance operations. As per media reports, Chinese regulators have previously also asked company to comply with nation’s regulatory requirements and continue as a payments service provider while warning against its growth in consumer loans and wealth manment businesses. However, China’s Central bank anuncement on December 27 came in backdrop of intense scrutiny of anti-mopoly practices in China’s internet industry. 

Earlier, last month, Chinese regulators had also abruptly suspended Ant’s $37 billion initial public offerings in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Moreover, just a few days ago, country’s antitrust authorities had reportedly said that y had launched an investigation into Jack Ma’s e-commerce conglomerate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. Both Chinese regulators, as well as ruling Chinese Communist Party officials, have set about reining in Ma’s sprawling financial empire reportedly after he had publicly deunced country’s regulatory system in October for stifling invation. 

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Anti-mopoly probe against Alibaba

On December 24, Chinese regulators launched anti-mopoly probe of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group as CCP is attempting to limit rapidly-growing power of tech industries. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government reportedly worries about dominance of competitors including Jack Ma’s Alibaba which is w one of world’s biggest company by sales volume and Tencent Holding which is operator of WeChat messaging service.

As per Associated Press report, regulators in Asian country are primarily focussed on restricting growth in private sector companies that are appearing to expand into online banking especially at a time when Beijing is trying to diminish financial risks. CCP has reportedly also said that anti-mopoly enforcement especially in tech sector will be main priority in 2021. CEO of Geo Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong, Francis Lun said era of free growth is “over”.

“ era of free growth and ultra-high growth is really over,” said Francis Lun. “ government will decide what you can do.”

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