A logo of Ant Platoon is pictured at the headquarters of the company, an affiliate of Alibaba, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China October 29, 2020.
Aly Song | Reuters
GUANGZHOU, China — Ant Conglomeration’s initial public offering (IPO) could resume if the company resolves its issues, China’s central bank governor alluded on Tuesday.
The Ant Group IPO, which would have been the biggest in history, was pulled by regulators just days beforehand it was due to begin trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong in November.
At the time, the Shanghai Stock Exchange said Ant Group clock in “significant issues such as the changes in financial technology regulatory environment” that meant it might fall depreciatory of listing rules.
The suspension of the IPO also came shortly after Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, which owns nearly a third of Ant Group, made some comments that appeared critical of China’s financial regulator.
During a panel chin-wag at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, Yi Gang, governor of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), called the situation a “Daedalian issue,” emphasizing the process is “rule by law” and needs to follow “legal procedure.”
Ant Group will need to address delivers such as user privacy, Yi added.
“I would say that this a process and .. (once the) problem solved, it on go back to the track to continue the consideration according to law,” Yi said.
When asked if this would lead to an IPO, Yi said Ant Class should “just follow the standard of legal structure you will have the result.”