The Shanghai Stock Exchange on Tuesday announced that Ant Group’s highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO) has been suspended, as the company has not yet met the information disclosure requirements for the listing. The firm’s fundraising target of nearly USD 34.5 billion is expected to be the world’s largest.
Following news of the suspension, Ant Group decided to pause its listing in Hong Kong as well.
Ant Group’s controlling shareholder Jack Ma, executive chairman Eric Jing, and CEO Simon Hu were all summoned to for an interview with regulators from the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) on Monday. The Chinese exchange cited the meeting as the reason for the delay.
The CSRC also claimed that some of Ant Group’s financial technology might not meet evolving regulatory standards for fintech, adding another obstacle to the firm’s aspirations to become a public company.
Read more: How AI and vast data support Ant Group’s financial empire
The company released a statement to investors apologizing “for any inconvenience caused by this development.”
“We will properly handle the follow-up matters in accordance with applicable regulations of the two stock exchanges,” the statement said. “We will keep in close communications with the Shanghai Stock Exchange and relevant regulators, and wait for their further notice with respect to further developments of our offering and listing process and disclose in a timely manner.”