Ant Group: China’s fintech flyer grounded by regulators

Set for a record-busting $34 billion IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Ant Group has had its wings summarily clipped by Chinese regulators.

Backed by Jack Ma, China’s richest man who founded the Alibaba e-commerce empire two decades ago, Ant is a financial technology titan stitched into the everyday life of hundreds of millions of Chinese people through its easy mobile payments system.

But the group — which has more than 700 million monthly active users — has drawn concern in China’s state-controlled finance sector by venturing into personal and consumer lending, wealth management and insurance.