‘It’s a joke’: Retail investors shocked as China halts Ant Group’s IPO

Mom-and-pop investors who put in bids worth a record $3 trillion in China’s Ant group – equivalent to Britain’s annual economic output – were stunned after regulators abruptly suspended what would have been the world’s largest stock market debut.

China blocked the fintech giant’s $37 billion listing on Tuesday, thwarting its debut in Hong Kong and Shanghai scheduled for Thursday and dealing a severe blow to the company founded by billionaire and Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma.

The suspension followed a Monday meeting between China’s financial regulators and Ant executives, including Ma, who were told the company’s lucrative online lending business would face tighter scrutiny, sources told Reuters.