Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial, is an affiliate company of the Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group.
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22 Facts About Ant Group
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On 12 April 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that under the pressure from the Chinese government, Ant Group would be transformed into a financial holding company overseen by China's state-controlled central bank.
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In September 2016, Ant Group bought EyeVerify Inc and the company was rebranded as Zoloz.
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In September 2017, Ant Group formed a joint venture with Sir Li Ka-shing's CK Hutchison Holdings to launch a digital wallet service in Hong Kong.
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In January 2020, Ant Group applied for a digital banking license in Singapore.
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In 2020, Ant Group intended to complete an initial public offering, aiming to raise $34 billion by listing.
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Ant Group issued a statement disclosing that the Ant and government representatives discussed "Views regarding the health and stability of the financial sector".
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Ant Group began working to address regulator concerns in January 2021, though no public plans for an IPO have been announced as of September 2021.
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Ant Group did not appear in public between October 2020 and January 2021.
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Ant Group was later ordered by the People's Bank of China on 26 December 2020 to "rectify" its business and formulate an implementation timetable.
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The central bank summoned Ant executives, saying that the Group lacked an effective governance mechanism, defied regulatory compliance requirements and engaged in regulatory arbitrage.
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On 15 January 2021, Ant Group announced that it will overhaul its business structure in accordance with the Chinese central bank and its financial regulators' wishes.
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In 2022, Ant Group launched a new investment advisory service named "Golden Choice Investment Consultants " in partnership with six financial institutions – Aegon-Industrial Fund, Southern Asset Management, Zhong Ou Asset Management, GF Fund Management, Harvest Wealth, and Caitong Securities.
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On 14 February 2019, Ant Group acquired the British international money transfer services provider WorldFirst for $700 million.
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Ant Group Fortune offers hundreds of products from more than 80 Chinese fund institutions.
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In June 2017, Ant Group Fortune launched a Fortune Account service platform that allows financial institutions to publish content and sell their financial products there.
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In October 2018, Ant Group launched the Xianghubao mutual protection plan that attracted 50 million people to sign on in half a year.
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In September 2019, a product within the Alipay app called Ant Group Forest received a Champions of the Earth award, the United Nation's highest environmental honor, for turning the green activities of half a billion people into real trees planted in some of China's most arid regions.
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Ant Group is among the early-stage investors of Megvii, a Beijing-based company known for providing artificial intelligence products to various businesses including Ant itself.
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