China's financial authorities fined fintech Ant Group at approximately 7.1 billion yuan (994 million US dollars). The company owns AliExpress and other big names in the online market, such as Alibaba.
The fine imposed for breaking governance and consumer protection rules is a response from the Chinese real estate regulator after the financial investigation started in 2020. At the time, the founder and owner of Ant Group, Jack Ma, publicly criticized financial regulators.
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Why did Ant Group receive the billionaire fine?
According to regulators, the group that owns the aliexpress broke corporate governance and consumer protection rules. Likewise, they carried out financial and commercial activities “in banking and insurance, payments, money laundering and fund sales”.
Founded in 2014, the Chinese company has become a reference in technology and commerce. Thus, in 2020, the opening of a public offering was planned, but the authorities blocked the undertaking and demanded a reformulation of the companies, with more transparency and control. The People's Bank of China even reported that the group was indifferent to the country's regulations.
In the same period, Jack Ma used his platforms to publicly criticize the financial authorities of the China for going against innovation and being extremely cautious.
After the statements, Ma avoided public appearances, left control of the company and traveled abroad, having even been reported missing at the time.
From there, the group declared that it would change the command structure. Alibaba Group would be the parent company and they would develop six business units with individual structures to manage board and administrative matters.
Following the fine decision, Ant Group issued an official statement saying, “We will abide by the terms of the penalty in all seriousness and sincerity, and we will continue to further improve our governance of conformity".
This is one of the largest penalties ever levied against a company and represents a final solution for the Jack Ma. The total value of the Chinese group before the public offering was US$ 235 billion and is now valued at US$ 63.8 billion.
besides the high market value, another speculation that surrounds the fate of the company is the return of Jack Ma to the business world. It is speculated that he intends to regain control of the companies, after the decision of the Chinese authorities.
