President Xi Jinping has personally pushed to stop the initial public offering of shares (IPO) by Chinese fintech group Ant Group. Historically, the largest entry into the stock market in the history of the world is thus postponed indefinitely.
The decision came just days after Ant Group founder, Chinese billionaire and Alibaba founder Jack Ma publicly criticized local financial market regulators and the banking system. President Xi Jinping personally ordered regulators to vet and effectively stop Ant Group from entering the stock market, Reuters reported in connection to Wall Street Journal report.
Jack Ma said at a Shanghai summit in October this year that China‘s financial market regulation system is stifling innovation and needs to be reformed. According to him, regulation must be such that the financial system becomes an engine of economic growth and not a brake on it.
According to Reuters, the speech kicked off a series of events that have seen Ant Group suspend its entry into the stock market. Meanwhile, the value of the IPO was estimated at $37 billion, which would be the largest stock market entry in history.
