Ending Jack Mas Ant Groups two-year-long regulatory feud, Chinese authorities will reportedly impose a fine of more than $1 billion on the billionaires fintech company.
What Happened: Chinas central bank which has been driving the revamp at Ant after the Xi Jinping-led administration scuttled the company's $37 billion IPO at the last minute in 2020 is the regulator readying the fine, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Ant Group did not immediately respond to Benzingas request for comment.
See Also: Once Touted Biggest IPO Of All Time, Alibabas Fintech Affiliate Ant Financial Suffers 63% Profit Decline
The Peoples Bank of China has been in informal communication with Ant about the fine over the past few months, as per three of the sources. It plans to hold more such discussions with other regulators later this year and will reportedly announce the decision as soon as the second quarter of next year.
The report added that Ants fine could set the stage for ending the fintech companys long regulatory overhaul to secure a financial holding company license and eventually revive its IPO plans.
This came after Ant's affiliate company Alibaba Group Holdings BABA received a record fine of 18 billion yuan ($2.51 billion) for antitrust violations last year.
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