Ant Group's chairman Eric Jing breaks silence
Ant Group has conducted a thorough review of its operations and will fully align itself with national-development priorities across the next five years, said executive chairman Eric Jing in his first public comments since Chinese regulators suspended the firm's US$37 billion initial public offering.To get more
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Jing also promised to make Ant Group, the financial technology arm of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding, more "transparent and predictable" to the public during a speech at the Fourth China Internet Finance Forum on Tuesday. Alibaba owns South China Morning Post.
The Shanghai Stock Exchange pulled Ant Group's IPO on November 3, halting what would have been the world's largest-ever fundraising. Chinese regulators unleashed a torrent of new rules soon afterwards designed to bring the entrepreneurial Chinese fintech sector to heel. The regulators slammed the industry for endangering financial stability and disrupting traditional banking.Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China.
"If you're going to be disruptive in such a heavily regulated industry as finance, there is a duty of care to be transparent," said former IBM executive Richard Turrin, who is writing a book on fintech in China. "Jing's comments are exactly what the market needs to hear, and they are Ant Group's first step in getting its IPO back on track."Eric Jing, then president of Ant Financial, as the group was then called, at a press conference in Hong Kong on November 1 2016. Photo: Xiaomei Chen alt=Eric Jing, then president of Ant Financial, as the group was then called, at a press conference in Hong Kong on November 1 2016. Photo: Xiaomei Chen