The Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission of China announced on Thursday that all Internet platforms must analyze their business in the field of financial technology (fintech) to ensure that it complies with the requirements of regulators and rectify any deficiencies as soon as possible.
The announcement comes after Pan Gongsheng, vice governor of the Central Bank of China, said on Sunday that he had asked Ant Group, the Chinese financial technology (fintech) and financial services company, to implement a rectification plan and a plan as soon as possible. schedule to meet the requirements of regulators.
Central Bank of China officials also called on Ant to remedy its illegal financial activities, including in the area of lending, insurance and asset management, and to regulate the protection of personal information.
Ant announced that it will set up a “rectification” working group and fully implement the requirements of Beijing’s regulators.
In recent weeks, Beijing authorities have stepped up regulation of e-commerce platforms and financial technology (fintech) companies.
In early November, the Shanghai Stock Exchange suspended Ant Group Co Ltd’s Initial Public Offering on its STAR Market platform, which was originally set for November 5th. According to the statement of the Chinese stock exchange operator, the listing of the fintech company Ant was stopped due to the inability of the group to meet the new conditions set by the regulators. Following the decision of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, Ant also decided to stop listing in Hong Kong. Following the dual listing, Ant would have raised about $ 37 billion. It would be the largest Initial Public Offering in the world, surpassing the $ 29.4 billion record set last year by oil giant Saudi Aramco.
Chinese officials said Ant may not meet the requirements for listing or publishing information, citing recent changes in the regulation of financial technology (fintech) companies.
Chinese regulators have warned Alibaba of a trade practice called “choose one of two”, according to which traders are required to sign exclusive co-operation pacts so as not to offer their products to rival platforms.
