Ant Group proposes $6bn share repurchase program

Ant Group proposes $6bn share repurchase program | Insurance Business Asia

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Ant Group proposes $6bn share repurchase program

Fintech company gives notice to repurchase shares after three-year regulatory crackdown

Insurance News

By
Abigail Adriatico

Ant Group proposed a $6 billion share repurchase program to its shareholders following the three-year regulatory crackdown that significantly decreased its valuation, as reported by Forbes.

Jack Ma, co-founder of Alibaba Group, said that the e-commerce company received a notice of a shareholder meeting to approve the fintech company’s proposal. Alibaba said that the repurchased shares will be allotted to the Ant Group’s employee incentive plan.

The $6 billion share repurchase program provides the option for liquidity for its investors, the Ant Group spokesperson said.

Major shareholders of the Ant Group, the individual limited partners of investment firms Hangzhou Junhan and Hangzhou Junao, did not participate in the repurchase. According to a statement by a spokesperson from the fintech company, the decision was because of their commitment and confidence in Ant Group’s long-term development.

Almost three years after the financial services group’s $35 billion IPO, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement that Ant Group was fined almost $1 billion for its violation of China’s laws and regulations regarding corporate governance, consumer protection and clearing. This required the company to become a financial holding company.

While Ant Group had been raising funds for investors domestically and internationally, IPO revival for the fintech company will take years as Chinese rules dictate that companies undergoing a change in ownership are required to go under a time-out period.

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