Following a sequence of recent shareholding modifications, Alibaba’s financial arm, Ant Group, has stated that it has no plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO).
“Ant Group has been focusing on its business rectification and optimisation, and does not have a plan for an IPO,” the company spokesperson said.
Ant said in a statement on its official website on Saturday that no shareholder, alone or in collaboration with other stakeholders, will still have a say in the company, as part of an overall push to improve corporate governance.
After a series of modifications that modify the exercise of voting rights by Ant’s major shareholders, Alibaba’s founder Jack Ma will no longer control the Chinese financial technology company. Jack Ma relinquished control of Ant Group, after the company spent the previous two years restructuring its business, from consumer loans to insurance products, to pacify regulators.
The change comes as Ant nears the end of its two-year regulatory-driven restructuring, with Chinese authorities threatening to fine the company more than $1 billion.
The company received approval last week for capital expansion of its key consumer finance unit, a critical step in its restructuring.
The sources for this piece include an article in Reuters.