China imposed more than $1 billion in fines on tech giants Ant Group Co. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., signalling an end to a crackdown on the sector that had wiped out billions in market value and derailed the world’s biggest initial public offering.
The People’s Bank of China said financial regulators fined Ant 7.12 billion yuan ($984 million), wrapping up more than two years of probes into the finance technology firm founded by billionaire Jack Ma. Tencent was levied a 2.99 billion yuan fine, according to statements from the central bank Friday.
Tencent and Ant affiliate Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. soared in New York trading. Investors are betting the fines draw a line under the multi-year crackdown that torpedoed Ant’s planned IPO in 2020 and ensnared some of the nation’s most powerful private firms in sectors from online education to gaming. It paves the way for Ant to revive growth and eventually resurrect plans for an IPO.
