BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Ant Group on Friday denounced a set of financial self-discipline rules amid intense scrutiny of its activities by the authorities and the country’s widespread tightening of financial technology regulations.
The rules, the first of their kind to be made public by the financial technology giant, come about four months after China suspended the group’s $ 37 billion plan to list shares in both Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Chinese regulators have tightened their grip on fintech companies amid concerns about the financial systemic risks of the financial empire affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
In response to intense regulatory pressure, the group has curbed some of its activities, taken steps to align its capital requirements with those of banks and transformed itself into a financial holding company.
In a statement, Ant said its consumer loan platforms should not lend to minors and prevent small business loans from flowing into the stock and real estate markets.
The group’s credit rating service, Zhima Credit, will also not be available to financial institutions, including microcredit providers, he said, without explaining the specific risk of such partnerships.
Reflecting regulators’ tough stance on financial risk, Guo Shuqing, head of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, warned last week that bubble risk is a core concern for China’s real estate sector.
Regarding the restructuring of Ant’s business, Guo said there were no restrictions on the financial activities it develops, but that all of its financial activities must be regulated by laws.
Previously, Ant lowered its borrowing limits for some young users of its Huabei virtual card product. The credit limit reduction is intended to encourage more “rational” spending habits among users, the company said.
Reporting by Cheng Leng, Yingzhi Yang and Ryan Woo; Adaptation by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman