Fintech and Regulation: A Case Study of the Ant Group

Antai professor Li Nan reviews the case of Ant Financial, which planned what would have been the world's largest-ever IPO in autumn 2020, a plan suddently halted by China's regulators.

Applicants: 116
¥258

Time commitment:

45 min

Pace:

Self-paced

Subject:

Finance

Language:

English

Level:

Introductory

Topic (s):

Fin-tech

About this course

The suspension of Ant Group's IPO in autumn 2020 made global headlines. Why did the regulators take such action? How did Ant Group grow into a financial giant in China in a relatively short time? Was the Ant Group at that time a financial Ant or a tech Ant? Professor Li leads us through the four rounds of dispute between the company and China's regulators, discussing the real reasons behind the listing's failure. Along with the timeline of Ant´s development, and the structure of the company, Professor Li provides a wealth of supporting data to demonstrate the company's actual situation and substantial risk created by the business model.

What you’ll learn

  • An understanding of Ant and its business development over the past years
  • The reasons for Ant's remarkable growth in a short time 
  • The relationship between Ant and the regulators, specifically the several rounds of dispute from 2020 on
  • Whether Ant was, at the time of the aborted IPO, a financial company or technology company
  • How Ant made profits and what financial risks the model posed for the financial sector in China
  • The real reasons for the failed IPO

About the instructor(s)

Nan Li

Associate Professor at Antai College of Economics and Management of Shanghai Jiao Tong University

Syllabus

  • Session

    1

    Development of Alipay and its business

    This session introduces the timeline of the development of Alipay and its business, analyzes how they make profits and how regulators respond to the new form of development in finance sector in China.

  • Session

    2

    Ant Financial IPO Failure

    This session discusses the nature of Ant Financial through analyzing its structure of business and the financial risks it brings, which lead to suspending of Ant Financial IPO by regulators.