The Ant Group IPO, which would have been the biggest ever, was stopped by regulators just days before it was due to begin trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong in November due to “significant issues" that might've seen it fall foul of listing rules.
This indefinite suspension of the IPO came shortly after Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba, which owns roughly a third of Ant Group, made comments that seemed critical of China's chief financial regulator, the PBOC.
People's Bank of China (PBOC) governor, Yi Gang, however suggested during a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum on Tuesday, that the initial public offering could resume if the company resolves its issues.
He described the situation as a “complicated issue,” emphasizing the process is “rule by law” and needs to follow “legal procedure,” adding that the Ant Group still needed to address issues such as user privacy.
“I would say that this a process and .. (once the) problem solved, it will go back to the track to continue the consideration according to law,” Yi said.
When asked if this would lead to an IPO, Yi said to Ant Group “just follow the standard of legal structure you will have the result.”