{"id":1968295,"date":"2023-07-10T07:30:02","date_gmt":"2023-07-10T11:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alibaba-and-tencent-buoyed-by-hope-of-end-to-tech-crackdown\/"},"modified":"2023-07-10T07:34:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-10T11:34:29","slug":"alibaba-and-tencent-buoyed-by-hope-of-end-to-tech-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alibaba-and-tencent-buoyed-by-hope-of-end-to-tech-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Alibaba and Tencent hopeful as tech crackdown may cease."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Falibaba-and-tencent-buoyed-by-hope-of-end-to-tech-crackdown%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1968295&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h2>Alibaba and Tencent Shares Rise as Ant Group&#8217;s Fine Signals Regulatory Crackdown&#8217;s End<\/h2>\n<p>By Scott Murdoch and Julie Zhu<\/p>\n<p>HONG KONG (Reuters) \u2013 Alibaba Group and Tencent shares rose in Hong Kong on Monday as China\u2019s $984 million fine for Ant Group was viewed as signalling the end of a regulatory crackdown on the country\u2019s technology sector.<\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-1\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px;  text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-1'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>After the penalty on Friday, Jack Ma-founded Alibaba affiliate Ant announced an up to $6 billion share buyback that values the fintech company at a 75% discount to the valuation touted in an abandoned initial public offering (IPO) but is seen as providing liquidity and certainty to investors.<\/p>\n<p>The abrupt shelving of Ant\u2019s IPO in late 2020 heralded the start of a wide-ranging clampdown by Beijing on industries ranging from technology to education, as regulators sought to assert their authority over what they deemed to be excesses and bad practice emerging from years of runaway growth.<\/p>\n<p>The scrutiny made for an uncertain environment that wiped billions off share prices, ensnaring companies from online retail giant Alibaba to gaming company Tencent and food delivery group Meituan. <\/p>\n<p>Alibaba\u2019s Hong Kong-listed shares closed 3.2% up, beating a 0.6% rise for the benchmark Hang Seng index. Tencent closed 0.7% up.<\/p>\n<p>Beijing\u2019s move to finalise penalties and outstanding issues with Ant and other tech names comes as China\u2019s economy \u201cis challenged by a weak recovery\u201d and is meant to assuage investor concerns along with commitments to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/alibaba-and-tencent-buoyed-by-hope-of-end-to-tech-crackdown\/\" title=\"Alibaba and Tencent hopeful as tech crackdown may cease.\">open support private sector growth<\/a>, said Daniel Tu, founder of Active Creation Capital.<\/p>\n<p>Besides Ant, the Chinese authorities also fined Tencent\u2019s online payment platform Tenpay nearly 3 billion yuan ($414.88 million) over areas such as customer data management.<\/p>\n<p>The People\u2019s Bank of China (PBOC) on Friday said that most of the prominent problems for platform companies\u2019 financial businesses had been rectified and regulators would now shift their focus to overall regulation of the industry rather than specific companies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe view this announcement a key milestone for a regular, clear and visible regulatory environment for China\u2019s internet companies,\u201d Huatai Research analysts wrote in a note to clients.<\/p>\n<p>ANT GROUP VALUATION SLASHED<\/p>\n<p>Alibaba, which spun off Ant 12 years ago and has a 33% stake, on Sunday said it was considering whether to participate in the buyback that would transfer shares to an employee incentive scheme.<\/p>\n<p>Ant\u2019s major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, which collectively hold more than 50% of its shares on behalf of the company\u2019s executives and employees, will not participate in the buyback, it said.<\/p>\n<p>Foreign investors bought into Ant in the third fund raising round in 2018.<\/p>\n<p>Ant said on Saturday that it proposed to repurchase up to 7.6% of its equity interest at a price representing a valuation of about $78.5 billion. <\/p>\n<p>That compared with the $315 billion valuation in 2020 for what was set to be the world\u2019s largest IPO, had it not been derailed at the last minute by Chinese regulators.<\/p>\n<p>The buyback will be one of the first opportunities for Ant investors who had participated in three funding rounds from 2015 to 2018 to sell out of the company. <\/p>\n<p>Ant\u2019s largest onshore investors were the National Council for Social Security Fund, Zhifu (Shanghai) Invstment Centre, Shanghai Zhongfu Equity Investment Management Center and China Life Insurance, according to the 2020 IPO prospectus. <\/p>\n<p>Ant and its subsidiaries had violated laws and regulations in areas including corporate governance, financial consumer protection and anti-money laundering obligations, the PBOC said on Friday as it announced one of the largest fines ever for a Chinese internet company.<\/p>\n<p>The finalised penalty could pave the way for Ant to secure a financial holding company licence, lift its growth rate and eventually revive its plans for a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/herbert-diess-volkswagens-disruptor-in-chief-runs-out-of-road\/\" title=\"Herbert Diess, Volkswagen\u2019s disruptor-in-chief, runs out of road\">stock market listing<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>However, analysts question whether Ant will press ahead with a listing in the near future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAccording to the company, the reason for the buyback is providing liquidity to existing investors and attracting and retaining talented individuals through employee incentives,\u201d said Oshadhi Kumarasiri, a LightStream Research analyst who publishes on Smartkarma.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnt could have achieved both these objectives through an IPO \u2026 This means IPO is essentially put on hold.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>($1 = 7.2310 Chinese yuan renminbi)<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p> (Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Julie Zhu and Donny Kwok in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree, Jamie Freed and David Goodman)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/uncategorized\/alibaba-and-tencent-buoyed\/attachment\/file-photo-the-logo-of-alibaba-group-is-seen-at-3\/\"><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Facebook Releases New Threads App, Faces Controversy<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Poll Shows Jeff Landry Leading in Louisiana Governor Race<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Conservative Group Implodes Amid Founder&#8217;s Alignment with Presidential Candidate<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Mark Zuckerberg Launches Rival Social Media App to Challenge Twitter<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Foxconn Pulls Out of Joint Venture with Vedanta Ltd<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>China&#8217;s Auto Manufacturers Retract Pledge on Abnormal Pricing<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Ocado Opens First Robotic Warehouse in Asia<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<h3>Central Banks Expected to Launch Digital Currencies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Group said it would comply with the ruling, leading to a surge in investor confidence. Alibaba and Tencent stocks surged in Hong Kong, as the $984 million fine imposed on Ant Group was seen as a sign that China&#8217;s tech sector would no longer face strict regulatory measures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":1968296,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1968295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1968295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1968295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1968296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1968295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1968295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1968295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}