Ant Group, the fintech at the centre of a tech crackdown by Chinese authorities, is set to be fined US$1bn as part of a two-year regulatory investigation by the People's Bank of China (PBOC).
Jack Ma, the high-profile billionaire founder of Ant owner Alibaba, disappeared for three months following the Chinese government’s decision to halt Ant’s US$37bn IPO in Singapore after he criticised Beijing in a speech.
Ant subsequently has faced a detailed investigation by the PBOC as the Chinese government has reasserted its influence over the country’s burgeoning tech industry.
A fine for Ant could enable it to secure a long-awaited financial holding company licence, according to Reuters, and eventually revive its plans for a listing.
Fines by the government on tech firms from China but operating globally have been racking up recently.
Ride-hailing firm Didi Global was fined US$1.2bn in July, while Jack Ma’s holding company and eCommerce giant Alibaba was handed a record US$2.5bn penalty for anti-monopoly breaches.
A fine will likely focus on Ant's alleged "disorderly expansion of capital" and the corresponding financial risks caused, according to Reuters quoting an unnamed source.
Ma, one of China's most successful and influential businessmen, has largely remained out of public view since the crackdown.
Ant has also pivoted away from digital payments and into a financial holding firm under banking regulation.
The business's two micro-loan businesses have been merged into one consumer finance unit and it has been forced to share data on its users with the Chinese state.