Ant, a fintech pioneer that once dominated online spheres from mobile payments to money management, has lost much of its value since regulators scrapped what would have been a record IPO at the eleventh hour in 2020. Singapore’s state investment firm, for one, seeks a better understanding of how Ant arrived at its repurchase valuation of about 567.1 billion yuan (US$78.9 billion or $104.9 billion). That’s almost 70% lower than an estimated US$280 billion market capitalization in 2020.
Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has decided not to sell any part of its one-third stake in Ant Group Co. during the Chinese fintech leader’s imminent share buyback, saying it wants to maintain its slice of an important partner.
Alibaba said in an exchange filing it won’t take part in Ant’s plan to buy back as much as 7.6% of its stock, which the latter’s board has approved. That decision comes after the e-commerce company and Temasek Holdings Pte said they were considering unloading part of the stakes during the program.
