(Reuters) Shares of Alibaba rose more than 10% on Friday after reports indicated China had accepted Ant Group’s application to become a financial holding company.
The grant is expected to pave the way for Ant to make a public debut and end previous entanglements with the Chinese regulators.
The approval is the latest signal of continuing softening of China against its tech giants. Beijing started to reign on the tech giants in late 2020, with the woes leading to a market rout that has lasted to date.
China stopped Ant’s blockbuster IPO in November 2020, in what would have become the world’s biggest listing at $37 billion. The block happened after Jack Ma gave a speech in which he castigated the regulators for curtailing innovation.
Ant was classified as a tech entity for its IPO. The forced change to become a financial holding company makes it subject to capital requirements and regulations similar to banking institutions.
BABA: NYSE is up +10.05% in premarket.
