China slaps Ant Group with a near $1.0 billion fine

July 08, 2023 02:22 AM AEST | By Invezz

China slaps Ant Group with a near $1.0 billion fine — Image source: Invezz

Why did the PBOC hit Ant with a fine?

The Alibaba affiliate has been slapped with a ¥7.12 billion fine ($985 million) after the central bank found it in violation of several laws and regulations around consumer protection, corporate governance and anti-money laundering requirements.

Shares of Alibaba are still up more than 5.0% this morning since the penalty is expected to conclude the years-long regulatory crackdown on the financial services company.

The government scrutiny started in late 2020 when Ant Group was forced to scrap its plans of a $37 billion IPO (Initial Public Offering). The news arrives more than a month after the fintech giant reported a 56% year-over-year hit to its quarterly profit.

Ant Group responds to the penalty

Earlier this year, Ant Group secured approval to expand its footprint in consumer finance – a signal that its commitment to regulatory compliance was yielding results.

Responding to the fine imposed this morning, the Hangzhou-headquartered firm reiterated:

We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance.

The Central Bank of China also confirmed today that it had now rectified the majority of issues in the country’s financial services platforms like Ant Group and added that it’s job, moving forward, will be of normalised supervision.

The post China slaps Ant Group with a near $1.0 billion fine appeared first on Invezz.

Disclaimer

The content, including but not limited to any articles, news, quotes, information, data, text, reports, ratings, opinions, images, photos, graphics, graphs, charts, animations and video (Content) is a service of Kalkine Media Pty Ltd (Kalkine Media, we or us), ACN 629 651 672 and is available for personal and non-commercial use only. The principal purpose of the Content is to educate and inform. The Content does not contain or imply any recommendation or opinion intended to influence your financial decisions and must not be relied upon by you as such. Some of the Content on this website may be sponsored/non-sponsored, as applicable, but is NOT a solicitation or recommendation to buy, sell or hold the stocks of the company(s) or engage in any investment activity under discussion. Kalkine Media is neither licensed nor qualified to provide investment advice through this platform. Users should make their own enquiries about any investments and Kalkine Media strongly suggests the users to seek advice from a financial adviser, stockbroker or other professional (including taxation and legal advice), as necessary. Kalkine Media hereby disclaims any and all the liabilities to any user for any direct, indirect, implied, punitive, special, incidental or other consequential damages arising from any use of the Content on this website, which is provided without warranties. The views expressed in the Content by the guests, if any, are their own and do not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Kalkine Media. Some of the images/music that may be used on this website are copyright to their respective owner(s). Kalkine Media does not claim ownership of any of the pictures displayed/music used on this website unless stated otherwise. The images/music that may be used on this website are taken from various sources on the internet, including paid subscriptions or are believed to be in public domain. We have used reasonable efforts to accredit the source wherever it was indicated as or found to be necessary.