'마윈 정부 비판에' 앤트그룹 홍콩•상하이 상장 무기한 연기
The much anticipated public listing of China's Ant Group, co-founded by Jack Ma, the billionaire founder of e-commerce platform Alibaba, has been halted abruptly.
This comes as Ma bluntly criticized the Chinese Communist Party and the country's financial system.
Kim Hyo-sun reports.
What was supposed to be the world's largest initial public stock offering has been halted at the last minute.
This comes as Chinese authorities suspended the IPO of Ant Group,... a Chinese financial technology company that was set to go public on Thursday.
The IPO was expected to raise some 37 billion U.S. dollars and boost the company's market value to over 300 billion dollars.
However, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said Tuesday that it had postponed the company's listing,... due to "major issues" without elaborating.
According to Ant Group,... its IPO has also been suspended in Hong Kong.
Such an abrupt move comes on the heels of a meeting held between regulators and the company's executives including its billionaire co-founder Jack Ma,... who is also the founder of Alibaba, Ant's affiliate.
Just over a week ago,... while addressing a financial conference,... Ma publicly criticized Chinese regulators for undermining innovation by being too risk averse.
In China, analysts interpret Beijing's latest move as a slap down for Ma,... who wanted Ant to be treated as technology company rather than a highly regulated financial institution.
China's state-backed Economic Daily newspaper, however, described the decision as one that protects the interests of investors.
Kim Hyo-sun, Arirang News.
