.png "back to home page")
1/4
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) November 5, 2020
Many analysts are arguing that the surprise suspension of the Ant IPO was mainly, or at least partly, the consequence of Jack Ma’s angry speech two weeks earlier, but my understanding is that his speech was itself a response to regulatory...https://t.co/gajipOmLiu
2/4
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) November 5, 2020
concerns that were already being widely discussed.
If true, perhaps the IPO should've been withdrawn much earlier by Ant and its bankers, pending clarification of the new regulations. It may be that regulators were not the only ones to have handled this whole thing badly.
- To govern well, you can’t pick and choose when and how hard to regulate; the secret sauce is consistency.
— Peter Elstrom (@pelstrom) November 5, 2020
- Beijing is looking as childish and moody as Trump on the day of the U.S. election.
4/4
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) November 5, 2020
Ant and its bankers were doing everything possible to ensure the company was seen as a tech company, with much higher valuations than mere banks. Now it seems that Ant may indeed be a bank.
And to think Ma is a Communist party member.
— menaka doshi (@menakadoshi) November 4, 2020
To all those who sing praises of muscular government. ?https://t.co/YeanqEkQSS
FT: In China these days, "if a businessman makes money and keeps his head down and lays low, then it is fine…Otherwise, it is no good. Jack Ma stuck out his head a little too far. Hence, the consequences.”https://t.co/npl3clcKCf
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) November 5, 2020
"Ant will have to make changes that include capital increases at its lucrative micro-lending units, people familiar with the matter said. The fintech giant must also reapply for licenses for the units to operate nationwide..."https://t.co/tIpm9LDCIb
— Subrahmanyam KVJ (@SuB8u) November 4, 2020
3/4
— Michael Pettis (@michaelxpettis) November 5, 2020
By the way this article explains that had the IPO occurred, Ant would have become overnight the most valuable bank in the world, which is ironic because the IPO was very pointedly organized not as a bank IPO but rather as a tech IPO.
The regulatory tussle that scuppered Ant's IPO was a long run thing but it remained hidden until his ill-fated speech brought it out into the open and Ant's dreams crashing down. https://t.co/O6dmRsBAX6
— James Kynge (@JKynge) November 5, 2020
FT Big Read: Jack Ma may be one of China’s richest men. But his public criticism of Beijing was deemed unacceptable, analysts say — and Ant Group’s planned record IPO is now paying the price. https://t.co/PEczdN77Q3
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) November 5, 2020
There's no way they know this with any certainty. You don't churn out regs just like that
— Lueurverte (@luerverte) November 5, 2020
There's precedent here. Ma went on people's daily back in 13/14 before yue bao's launch to dunk on the SOEs. Got kneecapped a short while laterhttps://t.co/5RKTFCTnna
FT: “The party is pushing back”: why Beijing reined in Jack Ma & #Ant. https://t.co/1LBekhkbBb via @financialtimes
— ??Curtis S. Chin (@CurtisSChin) November 5, 2020
“…the motivations of China’s leaders in scuppering the #IPO. derive mostly from calculations of political power & status, Chinese analysts & state bankers say.”
Check out @shuli_ren's take on the Ant IPO:
— Peter Elstrom (@pelstrom) November 5, 2020
- It’s episodes like this that remind us how capricious and thin-skinned Beijing’s policy makers can be.
- Somehow, Beijing has proved Ma’s point: China’s bureaucrats don’t know what they’re doing. https://t.co/7N8nK79cHf
How billionaire Jack Ma fell to earth and took Ant's mega IPO with him | Article [AMP] | Reuters https://t.co/78KqF6a4Md
— FxMacro (@fxmacro) November 5, 2020
‘The party is pushing back’: why Beijing reined in Jack Ma and Ant https://t.co/HiFB1TTyNE
— Financial Times (@FT) November 5, 2020
‘The party is pushing back’: why Beijing reined in Jack Ma and Ant https://t.co/WW1bRAyQtE via @financialtimes
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) November 5, 2020
The Chinese government decided to stop the IPO of Ant, the large fintech group and Alibaba affiliate. What went wrong? https://t.co/V9tQdSIw6w pic.twitter.com/nhiIy4iIfW
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) November 5, 2020
FT: In China these days, "if a businessman makes money and keeps his head down and lays low, then it is fine…Otherwise, it is no good. Jack Ma stuck out his head a little too far. Hence, the consequences.”https://t.co/npl3clcKCf
— Jonathan Cheng (@JChengWSJ) November 5, 2020
Insightful piece on the unraveling of the Ant IPO and what it tells us about the broader tensions in China between the private sector and the state-directed economy. https://t.co/IIAZ4S3Zl1 via @financialtimes
— Martijn Rasser (@MartijnRasser) November 5, 2020
FT: ‘The party is pushing back’: why Beijing reined in Jack Ma and #Ant
— Patricia M Thornton (@PM_Thornton) November 5, 2020
The billionaire’s criticism of regulators triggered the move by #China's Communist leaders to limit the power of the fintech group
https://t.co/PUnGyaMCDl via @financialtimes
FT Big Read: Jack Ma may be one of China’s richest men. But his public criticism of Beijing was deemed unacceptable, analysts say — and Ant Group’s planned record IPO is now paying the price. https://t.co/PEczdN77Q3
— Financial Times (@FinancialTimes) November 5, 2020
‘The party is pushing back’: why Beijing reined in Jack Ma and Ant https://t.co/ukzozKj1tI via @financialtimes
— SonaliRanade (@sonaliranade) November 5, 2020
Your call for IPO pause: 1) Ma was already in private talks with regulators over the new rules (Ant denies), 2) Ma went rogue. @psb_dc @thepsironi @efipm @BrettKing @alvinfoo @ursbolt @spirosmargaris @jimmarous#fintech #banking #innovation #technology https://t.co/VG9fOfvmnr
— Richard Turrin (@richardturrin) November 5, 2020
The Chinese government does not mess around!!!
— Wainaina (@TheWainaina) November 5, 2020
The party is pushing back’: why Beijing reined in Jack Ma and Anthttps://t.co/n1C4dnCyMa
The regulatory tussle that scuppered Ant's IPO was a long run thing but it remained hidden until his ill-fated speech brought it out into the open and Ant's dreams crashing down. https://t.co/O6dmRsBAX6
— James Kynge (@JKynge) November 5, 2020
China’s move to abruptly halt the world’s biggest stock-market debut sends global investors a clear message: Any financial opening will only be done on terms that benefit President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party https://t.co/zaDCPwZcB4
— Andreas Landwehr (@andreaslandwehr) November 5, 2020
There have been some good posts about why Ant's IPO was blocked (which would have been the largest ever). It goes well beyond 'Xi be flexing,' which is what I had thought. Ant's opaque lending model was creating systemic default risk through 100x leverage. https://t.co/UN2G17o3Bv
— Postal Hero (@Mont_Jiang) November 4, 2020
China’s move to halt world’s No.1 IPO sends global investors a message: Any financial opening will only be done on terms that benefit President Xi Jinping & the Communist Party https://t.co/sDLEuvn30b @dantenkate @endacurran @Colum_M @KariSoo1 @LucilleLiu @SofiaHC1 @ScanlanDavid
— Lulu Yilun Chen (@luluyilun) November 4, 2020
The derailing of Jack Ma's mega Ant IPO shows Xi Jinping's in charge https://t.co/Ed3jRvilUu
— Bloomberg Next China (@next_china) November 4, 2020
Derailing of #JackMa’s Mega #Ant #IPO
— Spiros Margaris (@SpirosMargaris) November 4, 2020
Shows #XiJinping’s in #Charge https://t.co/yTcGcWJvOe #fintech #startup #VC @business @endacurran @SofiaHC1 @luluyilun #China pic.twitter.com/Xv6dURcEec
Yet…
— ??Curtis S. Chin (@CurtisSChin) November 4, 2020
At #Fintech #HKFinTechWeek celebrations, a #realitycheck:
the suspension of #Ant #IPO in Shanghai & Hong Kong underscores a reality—#China #CCP ?? Party business takes precedence over business & transparency. $BABA https://t.co/q5Kl1tjgA0 @endacurran @SofiaHC1 @luluyilun
And in any other universe, this would be one of the biggest stories of the year. Amazing stuff https://t.co/zpD1Kgguv5 @wealth @business
— John Fraher (@johnfraher) November 4, 2020