China slaps Ant Group with a near $1.0 billion fine

People’s Bank of China announced one of the biggest fines on record against Ant Group on Friday.Why did the PBOC hit Ant with a fine?The Alibaba affiliate has been slapped with a ¥7.12 billion fine ($985 million) after the central bank found it in violation of several laws and regulations around consumer protection, corporate governance and anti-money laundering requirements.Shares of Alibaba are still up more than 5.0% this morning since the penalty is expected to conclude the years-long regulatory crackdown on the financial services company.The government scrutiny started in late 2020 when Ant Group was forced to scrap its plans of a $37 billion IPO (Initial Public Offering). The news arrives more than a month after the fintech giant reported a 56% year-over-year hit to its quarterly profit.Ant Group responds to the penaltyEarlier this year, Ant Group secured approval to expand its footprint in consumer finance – a signal that its commitment to regulatory compliance was yielding results.Responding to the fine imposed this morning, the Hangzhou-headquartered firm reiterated:We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance.The Central Bank of China also confirmed today that it had now rectified the majority of issues in the country’s financial services platforms like Ant Group and added that it’s job, moving forward, will be of normalised supervision.The post China slaps Ant Group with a near $1.0 billion fine appeared first on Invezz