The recent aborted initial public offering (IPO) of Ant Group, which was set to be the biggest in history, was a stark reminder of just how important and closely watched the fintech industry is globally.
In Ant’s case, Chinese regulators halted the planned IPO because of what they called “changes in the regulatory environment” — an indication that the company is encroaching too far into the financial ecosystem regulated by the central bank.
While we don’t know all the details of this particular intervention, there are many sensitive issues that may be involved such as monetary policy, shadow banking, traditional banking versus data-driven lending, digital currencies and the control of data.
Financial technology companies are in a unique position because of their potential for far-reaching effects. As people become used to the ubiquity and convenience of mobile…
