Sign up for our daily briefing

Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Denver news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Des Moines news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Minneapolis-St. Paul news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Tampa Bay news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Charlotte news in your inbox

Catch up on the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Ant Group preps giant IPO amid rising U.S.-China tensions

Chinese financial tech giant Ant Group today filed for what could become the largest initial public offering of all time, with plans to list in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

Axios Re:Cap digs into why this deal is as much about geopolitics as it is about stocks, and why New York got left behind.

Go deeper

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata
Nov 4, 2020 - Technology

How Jack Ma scuttled Ant Group’s planned $35 billion IPO

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Jack Ma is brilliant. He's innovative. He's one of the world's richest men, and even has a lovely singing voice.

Driving the news: He also made one of the weightiest unforced errors in the history of global business, scuttling what was expected to be a $35 billion IPO for Chinese financial services company Ant Group.

Go deeper (2 min. read)Arrow
Felix Salmon, author of Capital
Nov 4, 2020 - Economy & Business

When an Ant is too big to fail

Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

Here's why Ant Group's IPO was pulled on Tuesday: It is one of the most systemically important financial institutions in the world, and at the moment it's barely regulated.

The big picture: Ant provides the technology that powers much of the Chinese economy, from borrowing to saving to investments to insurance. A failure of its systems could have devastating consequences for hundreds of millions of people.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Dion Rabouin, author of Markets
Nov 4, 2020 - Economy & Business

Ant Group's IPO could be headed for more trouble

Data: Yahoo Finance; Chart: Axios Visuals

China's suspension of Ant Group’s $35 billion IPO is "just the beginning of a renewed campaign by China to rein in the fintech empire controlled by Jack Ma," Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Details: "Authorities are now setting their sights on Ant’s biggest source of revenue: its credit platforms that funnel loans from banks and other financial institutions to millions of consumers across China," the article noted, citing unnamed sources.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow