By Julie Zhu and Jane Xu
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese regulators are expected to fine Ant Group about a quarter less than the more than $1 billion initially planned and downgrade their charges against it, sources said, as they seek to end a years-long crackdown on marquee technology firms.
The fine being considered now is about 5 billion yuan ($728 million), three people with knowledge of the matter said on condition of anonymity as the details are not yet public.
Chinese authorities, notably the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) which has been driving a revamp at Ant after its $37 billion IPO was scuttled in 2020, are expected to announce the fine in the coming months, two of the people said.
The PBOC and Ant, founded by billionaire Jack Ma, did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The fine would help pave the way for the fintech giant to secure a long-awaited financial holding company license, seek growth, and eventually revive its plans for a market debut.
For the broader technology sector, an Ant fine decision will mark a key step towards the end of China’s bruising crackdown on private enterprises that started with the scrapping of Ant’s IPO and has wiped billions off market values of Chinese companies.
A smaller fine following the recent return to China of Ant’s founder Ma, who stayed overseas for more than a year since the IPO fiasco, offers support for Beijing’s softening tone toward the private sector.
That would also be in sync with China’s efforts to bolster confidence among private entrepreneurs and spur growth in the $17-trillion economy battered by COVID-19, the sources said.
China’s economy grew just 3% in 2022, one of its worst showings in decades, but gathered pace early this year.
A lower fine could also help reduce any negative impact on Ant and the fintech sector given the scale of Ant’s business and its significance to the industry, the people added.
The amount of the fine is, however, still subject to changes, they cautioned.
Regulators have since at least January been considering reducing the fine and have been in informal communication with Ant about it, one of the people said.
SOFTER WORDING ON CHARGES
Apart from lowering the fine, authorities are also looking to soften the wording of their charges against Ant, two of the people said, in a move that is likely to further quell concerns of China’s private sector.
Authorities now plan to cite financial risks and operating certain business without proper licenses as the triggers for the fine, the people added.
Earlier, the fine was likely to be focussed on alleged violations related to “disorderly expansion of capital” and the corresponding financial risks its once freewheeling businesses caused, a source told Reuters in November.
Ant has been undergoing a sweeping business overhaul since April 2021, which includes turning itself into a financial holding firm, subject to rules and capital requirements similar to those for banks.
Just a day after Ma’s return to China in March, Alibaba said it was planning to split into six units and explore fundraisings or listings for most of them, a move seen by investors as a signal Beijing’s regulatory crackdown on corporates was ending.
Ant, which operates super-app Alipay, has businesses spanning payment processing, consumer lending and insurance products distribution.
Ma, a former English teacher, previously owned more than 50% of voting rights at Ant, but in January the fintech giant said he would give up control of the company as part of the revamp.
($1 = 6.8719 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Julie Zhu and Jane Xu; Additional reporting by Kane Wu; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Himani Sarkar)
