On Tuesday, China suspended the much-awaited Ant Group’s 28 billion euros ($37B) listing, thus throwing away all the investor hopes and slamming brakes on most massive stock IPO debut in the entire history, giving a blow to the fintech founded by Jack Ma.
On Tuesday, the Shanghai share exchange thwarted the company’s IPO (Initial Public Offering) on its STAR market, making the Ant group’s Hong Kong listing to freeze. The outcome came after the meeting of Jack Ma, firm’s top executives, and Chinese financial regulators which reported that the Ant Group would face tighter scrutiny.
The announcement is a disappointment to billionaire Jack Ma, who wanted the firm to be treated as a tech giant and not a financial institution. The reports messed up the market and made Alibaba group holdings share plunge more than 9% in US trading as it holds around 1/3rd stake in Ant group. Alibaba’s market cap plummeted more than $76 billion, which is more than double the Ant group’s listing value.