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That represents a steep 75% discount to the $315 billion valuation in 2020 for what was set to be the world's largest IPO had it not been derailed at the last minute by Chinese regulators. "China needs to resolve the Ant IPO to restore investor confidence," said Wang Qi, chief executive of China-focused asset manager MegaTrust Investment. For the broader technology sector, Ant's fine marks a key step towards the conclusion of China's bruising crackdown on private enterprises, which began with the scrapping of Ant's IPO in late 2020 and subsequently wiped billions off the market value of several companies. "At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely." On Friday, Chinese authorities also announced fines against two Chinese banks, an insurer, and Tencent Holdings' (0700.HK) online payment platform Tenpay.

Persons: Ant, Zhang Zihua, Wang Qi, Jack Ma, Hanyang Wang, Julie Zhu, Josh Ye, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan, Scott Murdoch, Shri Navaratnam, Kim Coghill Organizations: Saturday, Ant, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Beijing Yunyi, MegaTrust Investment, Fidelity, Reuters, Tencent Holdings, HK, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hangzhou, Hangzhou Junhan, Beijing, China

☆ Ant's share repurchase plan values firm around $79 bln, down sharply before crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It marked a sharp fall in the $300 billion-plus value ascribed to the company in mid-2020, before its IPO planned for later that year was pulled. Ant said it had proposed to all of its shareholders to repurchase up to 7.6% of its equity interest at a price that represents a group valuation of approximately 567.1 billion yuan. The repurchase proposal will also provide a liquidity option for the company’s investors," it said. Ant's major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, have voluntarily decided not to participate in the repurchase, the company added. "At the same time, initiating a stock buyback also indirectly informs investors that the possibility of a short-term IPO recovery is unlikely."

Persons: Ant, Hanyang Wang, Jack Ma, Brenda Goh, Zhang Yan, Josh Ye, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Saturday, Ant, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Tencent Holdings, HK, People's Bank of China, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Hong Kong

☆ Ant Group's share repurchase plan values firm at nearly $79 billion, down sharply before crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

HANGZHOU, CHINA - OCTOBER 27: A logo of Ant Group is seen at the company's headquarters on October 27, 2020 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China. Ant Group on Saturday announced a share repurchase plan that values the fintech giant at 567.1 billion yuan ($78.54 billion), as the management seeks to replenish its staff incentive pool and let some investors exit after regulators fined the firm. "The repurchased shares will be transferred into Ant Group's employee incentive plans to attract talents. Ant's major shareholders, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership and Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, have voluntarily decided not to participate in the repurchase, the company added. On Friday, Chinese authorities also announced fines against two Chinese banks, an insurer, and Tencent Holdings' online payment platform Tenpay.

Persons: Ant, Jack Ma Organizations: Ant, Saturday, Hangzhou Junhan Equity Investment Partnership, Hangzhou Junao Equity Investment Partnership, Tencent Holdings, People's Bank of China Locations: HANGZHOU, CHINA, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China

China's central bank said that financial regulators would fine Ant and its subsidiaries a total of 7.12 billion yuan, require it to stop operations of its crowdfunded medical aid service Xianghubao and compensate users. Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that Chinese authorities intended to unveil its fine on Ant as early as Friday. The sources had earlier said that the fine on Ant had been revised to at least 8 billion yuan. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they initially had in mind. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.

Persons: China c.bank, Ant, Ping, Rukim Kuang, Jack Ma, Jeffrey Towson, Pan Gongsheng, Pan, Didi Global, Alibaba, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Kevin Huang, Meg Shen, Twinnie Sui, Josh Ye, Ethan Wang, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Brenda Goh, David Holmes, Susan Fenton Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Ping An Bank, PICC, HK, Postal Savings Bank, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba, Hong Kong, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Lens Consulting, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, HONG KONG, Ant's, Hong, Beijing, CHINA

Reuters reported earlier, citing sources, that Chinese authorities intended to unveil its fine on Ant as early as Friday. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), a new government body under the State Council, is now the primary regulator to grant Ant the license, they added. The sources had earlier said that the fine on Ant had been revised to at least 8 billion yuan. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they initially had in mind. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations.

Persons: China c.bank, Ant, Ping, Rukim Kuang, Jeffrey Towson, Jack Ma, China's, Pan Gongsheng, Pan, Didi Global, Alibaba, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Kevin Huang, Meg Shen, Twinnie Sui, Josh Ye, Ethan Wang, Muralikumar Anantharaman, Brenda Goh, David Holmes, Susan Fenton Organizations: Ant, Singapore FinTech Festival, REUTERS, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Ping An Bank, PICC, HK, Postal Savings Bank, Tencent Holdings, Tenpay, Alibaba, Hong Kong, Lens Consulting, Communist Party, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Thomson Locations: Singapore, China, HONG KONG, Ant's, Hong, Beijing, CHINA

The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), a new government body under the State Council, is now the primary regulator to grant Ant the license, said the sources. PENALTY FOLLOWS MA'S RETURN TO CHINAThe final amount of the fine has been revised to at least 8 billion yuan, the sources said. Reuters reported in April that Chinese regulators were considering fining Ant about 5 billion yuan, a lower sum than what they had in mind initially. Alibaba was fined a record 18 billion yuan in 2021 for antitrust violations. ($1 = 7.2439 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Julie Zhu and Jane Xu; Additional reporting by Jason Xue; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Alibaba, Rukim Kuang, Jack Ma, Ant, China's, Pan Gongsheng, Didi Global, Julie Zhu, Jane Xu, Jason Xue, Muralikumar Organizations: Alibaba Honk, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters, Alibaba, HK, Lens Consulting, Communist Party, Financial Regulatory Administration, State Council, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Hong Kong, Ant's, Beijing, CHINA, China

☆ China to end Ant Group's regulatory revamp with fine of at least $1.1 billion, Reuters reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

A visitor is seen at the Ant Group booth during the opening of 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 6, 2023. Chinese authorities are likely to announce a fine of at least 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) on Ant Group as soon as Friday, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, bringing an end to the fintech company's years-long regulatory overhaul. The People's Bank of China, which has been driving the revamp at Ant after its $37 billion IPO was scuttled in late 2020, is expected to disclose the fine in the coming days, the sources told Reuters. In mid-2020 before its IPO was pulled, it was valued by some investors at more than $300 billion. Since April 2021, Ant has been formally undergoing a sweeping business restructuring, which includes turning itself into a financial holding company that would subject it to rules and capital requirements similar to those for banks.

Persons: Jack Ma, Ant Organizations: Ant, Artificial Intelligence, Ant Group, People's Bank of China, Reuters Locations: Shanghai

Taipei/London CNN —China’s top financial regulators have fined Ant Group — the fintech firm founded by billionaire Jack Ma — about 7.1 billion yuan ($994 million) for breaking rules related to consumer protection and corporate governance. “We will comply with the terms of the penalty in all earnestness and sincerity and continue to further enhance our compliance governance,” Ant Group said in a statement. Ant Group is an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba, which was also founded by Ma. In April 2021, Alibaba was fined 18.2 billion yuan ($2.5 billion) — a record for China — for behaving like a monopoly. Separately, China’s financial regulators also announced a fine of nearly 3 billion yuan ($415 million) for Tenpay, Tencent’s (TCEHY) online payment platform, according to information posted on the PBOC website on Friday.

Persons: London CNN —, Jack Ma —, Alibaba, Guo Shuqing, Ma Organizations: London CNN, Ant, China Securities Regulatory Commission, People’s Bank of China, National Financial Regulatory Administration, Ma, Communist Party, China, People’s Bank of, Xinhua, Ant Group Locations: Taipei, London, China, People’s Bank of China

[1/2] A Chinese national flag flutters outside the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) building on the Financial Street in Beijing, China July 9, 2021. China's long-awaited rules for offshore stock exchange listings form part of a regulatory tightening on cross-border listings after years of a laissez-faire approach. REGULATORY 'BLACKBOX'The new listing regime requires CSRC to respond within 20 working days upon accepting an issuer's listing filing. Submitting additional materials can be time-consuming and thus delay the listing process, said bankers and lawyers. Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Kane Wu in Hong Kong; Additional reporting by Selena Li in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Tingshu Wang, JD.com, Scott Murdoch, Kane Wu, Selena Li, Sumeet Chatterjee, Muralikumar Organizations: China Securities Regulatory Commission, REUTERS, China, U.S, iMotion Automotive Technology, Reuters, Thomson Locations: China, Beijing, Hong Kong, SYDNEY, HONG KONG, Suzhou, Sydney

☆ Mexico's rulers scoop up opposition bastion ahead of presidency vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The victory adds Mexico's most populous region to the 21 other states MORENA already controls, now more than two-thirds of the total. The centrist PRI has governed the State of Mexico since 1929, the date from which it began its long domination of Mexico. Defeated for the presidency in 2000, it bounced back in 2012 but was drubbed by Lopez Obrador six years later. "We defeated corruption and neglect," MORENA's triumphant candidate Delfina Gomez told cheering supporters after the vote, hailing the PRI's ousting. Gomez, who narrowly lost the previous state election, will be the State of Mexico's first female governor.

Persons: Delfina Gomez, Henry Romero MEXICO, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's, Lopez, MORENA, Lopez Obrador, MORENA's, Gomez, Alejandra del, Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Sheinbaum, Dave Graham, Gerry Doyle Organizations: National Regeneration, REUTERS, Henry Romero MEXICO CITY, Sunday, Regeneration, Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI, Mexico City's, Foreign, MORENA, Thomson Locations: State, Mexico, Toluca, MORENA, Mexico's, Coahuila

☆ Lopez Obrador party poised to gain control of key Mexico state election
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-04 | by ( Dave Graham | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] Delfina Gomez of the National Regeneration Movement (MORENA), candidate for the governor of the State of Mexico, smiles next to Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, leader of MORENA during a news conference in Mexico City, Mexico June 6, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos JassoMEXICO CITY, June 4 (Reuters) - Mexico holds a state election on Sunday that looks poised to bolster President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ahead of the race to succeed him, with his party forecast to capture the last major bastion of the country's old rulers. Lopez Obrador routed the PRI to win the presidency in 2018, and MORENA has since absorbed most of the once-dominant party's strongholds, as well as many of its politicians. Lopez Obrador has frequently criticized some sectors of middle class voters, and Mexico City and the State of Mexico in 2021 dealt MORENA unexpected setbacks in local elections. Sheinbaum, like Gomez, MORENA's State of Mexico candidate, is closely identified with Lopez Obrador and his agenda.

Persons: Delfina Gomez, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, MORENA, Carlos Jasso, Lopez Obrador, Alejandra del, Jose Hernandez, Los Reyes Acaquilpan, Gomez, Del Moral, Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Roy Campos, Consulta, Dave Graham, Aurora Ellis Organizations: National Regeneration, REUTERS, Carlos Jasso MEXICO CITY, Regeneration, Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI, Reforma, Mexico City, Mexico City's, Foreign, Thomson Locations: State of Mexico, Mexico City, Mexico, Carlos Jasso MEXICO, State, Los Reyes, MORENA, Coahuila, MORENA's State, of Mexico

The voting comes a year before Mexico's next presidential election, with polls indicating MORENA will be hard to beat. Del Moral has said the PRI learned from its mistakes and that her coalition would be a broader alternative to MORENA. As she cast her ballot, del Moral told reporters the vote was historic because for the first time a woman would be elected to govern the state. Guillermo Fuentes, a 55-year-old PRI supporter and small business owner, said del Moral, not MORENA, was the one who would deliver change to the State of Mexico. Sheinbaum, like Gomez, MORENA's State of Mexico candidate, is closely identified with Lopez Obrador and his policies.

Persons: Armando Guadiana, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Lopez, Lopez Obrador, MORENA, Mexico's, Delfina Gomez, Alejandra del, Jobita Pena, Pena, Gomez, Del Moral, Guillermo Fuentes, Claudia Sheinbaum, Marcelo Ebrard, Dave Graham, Alberto Fajardo, Aurora Ellis, Will Dunham, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: National Regeneration, Read, MEXICO CITY, Regeneration, Institutional Revolutionary Party, PRI, Reforma, Moral, Mexico City's, Foreign, Thomson Locations: Coahuila, Saltillo , Mexico, MEXICO, Mexican, State of Mexico, State, Mexico, Tlalnepantla, MORENA, MORENA's State, of Mexico

REUTERS/Aly Song/File PhotoSYDNEY/HONG KONG, May 8 (Reuters) - Alibaba's (9988.HK) logistics arm aims to raise up to $2 billion via a listing in Hong Kong likely early next year, sources with knowledge of the matter said, bolstering hopes for a capital markets revival in the Asian financial hub. Cainiao, which has started work on the IPO, is looking to raise between $1 billion and $2 billion in Hong Kong, according to three sources. IPO PROSPECTSDealmakers hope that Cainiao's potential IPO, expected to be followed by market debuts from some of the other Alibaba units in the near-term, could help revive sluggish fundraising activities in Hong Kong. About $1.5 billion has been raised from IPOs in Hong Kong so far this year, marginally above the $1.2 billion raised in the same period last year, according to Refinitiv data. ($1 = 6.9149 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Scott Murdoch in Sydney and Julie Zhu in Hong Kong; Editing by Sumeet Chatterjee and Jamie FreedOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alibaba's global online commerce arm weighs US IPO - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's (9988.HK), international online shopping unit is exploring a U.S. initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday citing people familiar with the matter. The e-commerce giant is in the early stages of consideration and the IPO's size is yet to be determined, the report added. The business group is in talks with banks that could potentially help prepare for the IPO next year, according to the report. However, in an emailed statement to Reuters, Alibaba Digital Commerce Group said, "Currently, there is no IPO plan". Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra EluriOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Alibaba's global online commerce arm weighs US IPO, Bloomberg reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

☆ The Biden tax proposals that could hit baby boomer, family businesses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

President Joe Biden's 2024 budget proposals contain several proposals that could hit small businesses right where it hurts — their wallets. Here are five provisions business owners should be aware of in President Biden's budget:A higher capital gains tax rate would be bad for business sellers. Biden is proposing that the corporate tax rate be increased to 28% from 21%. The majority of small businesses are pass-through businesses that are not subject to the corporate income tax, but for companies that are, the increase would be meaningful, tax experts said. Biden's proposal would increase the 3.8% net investment income tax rate on small business income over $400,000 to 5%.

☆ The Oldest Mistake in Economics
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Mary Anastasia O Grady | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Ms. O'Grady joined the paper in August 1995 and became a senior editorial page writer in December 1999. She was appointed an editorial board member in November 2005. In 2012 Ms. O’Grady won the Walter Judd Freedom Award from The Fund for American Studies. In 2009 Ms. O'Grady received the Thomas Jefferson Award from The Association of Private Enterprise Education. Ms. O'Grady received a bachelor's degree in English from Assumption College and an M.B.A. in financial management from Pace University.

☆ The insurance limit on your savings has become a hot global debate
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-28 | by ( Julia Horowitz | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures deposits up to $250,000 per person, per account, using a fund that banks pay into. “I don’t think that’s served us well.”Some argue the US deposit insurance limit should be 100 times higher. What is deposit insurance? Deposit insurance is aimed at calming fears, giving customers less reason to pull their cash out in a hurry. The debate over deposit insurance taps into bigger questions about the state’s role in private enterprise.

The fifth of young Chinese without jobs among a highly-educated generation is a record. The number of master's and Ph.D graduates in Beijing exceeds undergraduates for the first time, education authorities said. "However, young people who really pin their hopes on the gods and Buddhas when under pressure are also clearly going astray." "I don't believe I will ever find my ideal job," said the urban planning graduate, who spoke on condition of anonymity to protect her job prospects. "Why, instead of helping private enterprises develop, do you blame 11.58 million graduates for not taking off their scholar gowns?"

☆ The debate over banning TikTok has been poisoned by anti-Asian rhetoric
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Paayal Zaveri | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The TikTok CEO's testimony to Congress in March highlighted the anti-Asian rhetoric around the app. And second: The discourse around those issues, particularly talk of banning the app entirely in the US, has been poisoned by a surge in anti-Asian rhetoric, making it difficult to have a national conversation around TikTok in good faith. But what set the hearing with TikTok's CEO apart was the tone and personal nature of the questions, Asian American and Pacific Islander advocacy groups said. That paints a target on the back of Asian Americans, Chinese nationals living in the US, and, by extension, all other Asian populations, advocacy experts said. The rhetoric has consequences for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and the US economyAll this has implications for the Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the US and the global Asian diaspora.

☆ Chile's lithium push emerges as test for Latin American resource nationalism
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( David Alire Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

[1/2] Laborers work at a lithium plant on the Atacama salt flat in the Atacama desert of northern Chile January 8, 2013. While the former student protest leader's proposal to give the government a majority stake in all future lithium projects faces an uncertain path in Congress, its mere introduction shook one of the mining industry's most lucrative corners. Lithium is in high demand for rechargeable batteries for future fleets of electric vehicles in the global transition to green energy. That leaves the exception to the trend, Argentina, as an increasingly likely Latin American destination for new private capital for lithium. A strong pipeline of lithium projects in Argentina, the world's No.

☆ Argentina's lithium pipeline promises 'white gold' boom as Chile tightens control
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Lucila Sigal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Neighboring Chile, the region's top lithium producer, last week unveiled plans for a state-led public-private model, spooking investors. Bolivia has long maintained strict control over its huge though largely untapped resources, while Mexico nationalized its lithium deposits last year. The country has six lithium projects under construction and 15 in the advanced exploration or feasibility stage, Mignacco said. "Argentina's lithium sector has thrived through a decentralized, pro-market strategy," said Benjamin Gedan, director of the Latin America program at The Wilson Center, adding in contrast Bolivia's lithium sector had "repeatedly stalled as a result of excessive state control." "Chile today produces and exports much more lithium than Argentina," said Natacha Izquierdo, analyst at consultancy ABCEB.

☆ China resorts to extraordinary measures to soothe entrepreneurs amid deep retreat of private business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Hong Kong CNN —After years of regulatory crackdowns and draconian Covid curbs, private entrepreneurs in China are low on enthusiasm. If anything, the private sector seems to be retreating even more so far this year. State-led investment surged 10.5%, while private investment increased a mere 0.8%. In 2022, state investment rose 10.1%, while private investment ticked up 0.9%. “We always regard private enterprises and private entrepreneurs as people on our own side,” Xi said.

☆ Chinese officials step up foreign travel in race to find investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Clare Jim | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Their urgency highlights the pressure local governments face in boosting growth while burdened with cumulative debt of $9 trillion, said the sources who met Chinese officials in Hong Kong. The other executive and Yim said they had often attended as many as eight to 10 events a day with Chinese officials. Fengze, a district in the nearby city of Quanzhou, signed up procurement deals of up to 30 billion yuan from Hong Kong, the city's social media accounts showed. Shenzhen’s Boao district alone aims to attract 100 billion yuan in foreign investment this year, with 26 business managers and 10 officials responsible for key streets committing themselves to the task in a letter, Chinese media said. ($1=6.8810 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Clare Jim; Editing by Marius Zaharia and Clarence FernandezOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ In pioneering workshops, U.S. trains Cuban entrepreneurs to do business
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Dave Sherwood | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

[1/3] Cuban entrepreneurs Maria Puga and Ana Torres pose for a photo at their atelier in Havana, Cuba, April 3, 2023. "Cuba's state-run economy has traditionally not delivered, and recently has delivered even less," Ziff said in an interview. The United States, which says it operates "transparently" in Cuba, is not alone in seeking to promote Cuba's fledgling private sector. Diplomat Ziff said the United States was seeking ways to ease the burden of U.S. sanctions on private business but in a way that would not inadvertently benefit the Cuban government. "The biggest impediment to doing business in Cuba is the Cuban government," Ziff said.

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