Chinese fintech giant Ant denies imminent restart of IPO process
Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, said it had no immediate plans to revive its initial public offering , dispelling market speculation it would soon go public.The Chinese company shocked investors in November 2020 by cancelling its US$39.7 billion IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai less than 48 hours before market debut amid regulatory scrutiny. Since then, the question as to whether the company, founded by Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma, would restart its listing process continues to linger.Speculation intensified in the past 10 days, after Ma gave a rare public speech at the 20th anniversary of Ant's mobile payments platform Alipay in Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, saying he had faith in the "next 20 years of Ant" and expected "more miracles". The widely-reported address, along with Ant's appointment of a new CEO, has renewed talks that an IPO could be around the corner.Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with ex