Beijing Probes State Backers of Ant IPO

Beijing is reportedly investigating how Chinese entrepreneur Jack Ma quickly won approvals for the later pulled listing of Ant Group, in yet another sign that scrutiny of the fintech giant and its founder remains incomplete.

China’s central government first kicked off the investigation early this year.

The investigation is aimed at regulators that approved the IPO, local officials that advocated it and large state firms that stood to gain from the listing.

Jack Ma’s relationships with these state entities will also be probed, the report added.

Ant Group’s troubles with Beijing persists despite a series of hits to the fintech giant which included its $37 billion IPO pullout, a major overhaul of its businesses and, more recently, considerations for the potential divestment of Ma’s ownership.

Ant Group’s business prospects have been significantly moderated and its expected valuation has plummeted from the initial $320 billion to as low as $29 billion, according to a recent forecast by Bloomberg.