China’s central bank has accused Ant Group, the Chinese fintech giant, of “turning a blind eye” to regulatory compliance issues and ordered it to “rectify” its operations, in the latest government broadside directed against Jack Ma’s online empire.
Ant responded to Sunday’s rebuke with a statement saying it had “immediately” started drawing up plans and timetables to meet the demands laid out by the People’s Bank of China. The group added that it would “greatly” improve compliance by conducting an overhaul of its business.
Last Thursday China’s State Administration for Market Regulation announced that it had launched an antitrust investigation into Mr Ma’s ecommerce platform Alibaba, the country’s biggest tech company, for possible monopolistic practices. On the same day, financial regulators led by the PBoC said in a brief statement they would “supervise and guide” Ant on issues related to fair competition and consumer protection.