BEIJING (Reuters) – The Chinese Ant group on Friday unveiled a set of financial self-discipline rules amid intensive investigations into the activities of the authorities and the country’s overall 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 for a share list in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Chinese regulators have tightened their grip on fintech ventures amid concerns over systematic financial risks posed by the financial empire associated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
In response to the intense regulatory pressure the group is making from its operations, it has taken steps to bring its capital needs in line with those of banks and transformed itself into a financial holding company.
In a statement, Ant said its consumer lending platforms should not issue loans to minors, and should prevent small business loans from flowing to stock and real estate markets.
The group’s credit rating service Zhima Credit will also not be available to financial institutions, including microloans, without extending the specific risk of such collaboration.
Reflecting the tough stance of regulators on financial risks, Guo Shuqing, head of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, warned last week that bubble risk is a key issue facing the Chinese real estate sector.
On Ant’s restructuring of affairs, Guo said there are no restrictions on the financial matters he develops, but that all his financial activities should be regulated by laws.
Ant had earlier lowered its loan limits for some young users of its virtual card product Huabei. The credit limit cut is intended to promote more “rational” spending habits among users, he said.
Reporting by Cheng Leng, Yingzhi Yang and Ryan Woo; Edited by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman