HKMA Lauds Ant’s Role Despite IPO Pullout

Despite a halted dual listing, Ant Group will continue to play an important financial role in Hong Kong, according to officials from the city’s central bank.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) expressed continued confidence in the city’s fintech industry and specifically named Ant as a firm that would remain important in the market.

According to Nelson Chow, HKMA’s chief fintech officer, the was no reason to question Ant’s presence in Hong Kong despite the sudden pullout from an IPO.

This is one player, but many players are in town as well, so they are competing against each other to offer better services, said Chow, according to a report.

On the eight newly launched virtual banks which includes one operated by Ant, Chow described progress as «good», highlighting strong business models for funding small and medium-sized businesses through the use of alternative data.

The HKMA will need some time to observe the existing players, Chow said when asked about the possibility of issuing more virtual bank licenses.

On Hong Kong’s capital markets, Chow stressed that he believed that Ant’s IPO pullout would have no material effect on investor appetite.

The tone is very upbeat, he said. Investors see Asia and particularly Hong Kong as one of the major places where we’ll see a lot of fintech development.

And on mainland China’s digital yuan, Chow said that the HKMA would welcome any decision from Beijing, adding that it would «stand ready to cooperate.