Chinese President Xi Jinping ended Ant Group’s record initial public offering after its founder, Jack Ma, snub officials, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
China’s fintech public directory purported to be the largest in history, with $37 billion, but China’s new lending regulations keyed its plans and the monetary government eventually suspended supply.
Xi has not been a supporter of giant personal firms that collect wealth and strength in the country, as they are perceived as a challenge to his authority, the Journal said.
Ma quoted Xi as saying that “success will not come from me” and said he was seeking to use innovation to help solve China’s monetary problems, the Journal reported. Sources told the newspaper that government officials believed her comments were aimed at damaging the reputation of regulators.
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Ma also criticized regulators who apply a set of foreign banking regulations as “an elderly club,” the Times reported.
Xi and other government officials who read the reports on Ma’s speech were enraged by the comments, the Journal reported. Following Xi’s instructions, Chinese regulators investigated Ant’s offer and the OPI suspended on November 3.
It is not known whether Xi or any other government official were the first to recommend postponing the IPO, the Journal reported.
Ant Group did not respond to Business Insider’s request for feedback.
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