A revival of Ant’s initial public offering may be in play with Chinese regulators reportedly green-lighting the fintech giant’s second attempt to go public.
Beijing has given Jack Ma’s Ant Group a «tentative green light» for a second attempt at a public listing, according to a «Reuters» report citing unnamed sources, marking the first signs of a budding revival since the well-documented halt in late 2020.
Ant aims to file a preliminary prospectus for a share offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong as early as next month, though it is seeking to keep a low profile as it needs to wait for guidance from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on specific timing.
Regulator Progress
Separately, a «Bloomberg» report also citing unnamed sources said that the CSRC has formed a team specifically to reassess Ant’s share sale plans with an initial focus on the Shanghai listing.
The report also said that authorities were preparing to issue a financial holding company license to Ant which would result in the fintech giant being regulated more like a bank, clearing the path for a market debut.
Tech Easing
Meanwhile, there are increasing signs of policy easing for the internet sector, with regulators reportedly set to conclude their investigations into ride-hailing platform Didi.
In response to the reports of an IPO revival, Ant and the CSRC denied that any related work had been done.
«Under the guidance of regulators, we are focused on steadily moving forward with our rectification work and do not have any plan to initiate an IPO,» Ant said in a social media post yesterday.
