by Koo Lap

The Ant Group, which has raised US$34 billion in its IPO, was supposed to be listed simultaneously in both Hong Kong and Shanghai on Nov. 5 but has been halted at the last minute. The details of this event have been slowly exposed. According to the Wall Street Journal, the regulators “invited” Jack Ma and the senior officials of the Ant Group to meet on Nov. 2. Ma has allegedly kneeled and begged for forgiveness during the meeting and indicated that the country could take the platform as long as it needs it. However, his gesture has not been appreciated, and the group is still not allowed to be listed. It is not the first time treasure is presented to the country, but the predicted consequence is worrying.

When the CCP first took power, after it had confiscated the properties from imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, the “socialism reform” economy stepped up. The so-called “state-private partnership” began, targetting private enterprises; those capitalists who know immediately presented their property to the country. The most remembered would be the Rong Yiren family, who gave away 56 flour and textile companies in 1956. His act, however, had not kept him safe. Rong had his fingers broken and was blinded; his son Rong Zhijian (aka Larry Yung Chi-kin) was sent to the cold and poor Northeast area. Luckily, they got to enjoy some good years of their lives thanks to British ruled Hong Kong.

The CCP nowadays is much stronger and wealthier and has many more different ways to rob others’ wealth, in comparison to the barbaric “socialism reform.” One thing that has not changed is even if one gives away property and wealth, it does not guarantee one is safe from getting into trouble. The Wall Street Journal pointed out that Ma has not been seen in public after the financial summit on Oct. 24. Everyone knows “invite to meet” has other meaning in China; Ma is probably still having problems, and his situation is causing concern.

In fact, it is not the first time Ma giving treasure to the country. In 2011, “Alipay” was still the property of Alibaba and has not yet developed into the Ant Group. Ma risked being accused of stealing shareholders’ interests and ripped it off from Alibaba in the name of “protecting the safety of the country’s financial information.” At the time, he claimed, “as long as the country needs, I am ready to give Alipay to the country any time.” This gesture helped him get the third-party payment license and allowed “Alipay” to grow and become the Ant Group. So why his gesture this time round is not working?

The Wall Street Journal quoted the U.S. think tank Martin Chorzempa, who said, “the Chinese state has already effectively nationalized some of the financial infrastructure Ant built, such as the interbank payment system that became NetsUnion.” This liquidation company is now controlled by the central bank, which means it will belong to the country regardless. Ma does not have a choice at all. Similar actions would probably be taken again and again.

Some might say, the central government took over Anbang Insurance Group Co. Ltd. in 2018; previously, the richest man Wang Jianlin’s Dalian Wanda Group and Chen Feng’s HNA Group were forced to sell tens of billions of U.S. dollars in assets. So it is no surprise to see the Ant Group’s financial infrastructure being nationalized. Whether it was Anbang or HNA, they borrowed money in China to make big purchases overseas like Waldorf Astoria New York and the Deutsche Bank, which caused them to be in heavy debts and were forced to sell assets to help to manage domestic credit risk. But the Ant Group has passed all the listing reviews, which means its financial status should be stable. There must be another reason for it to halt its listing.

One of the speculations is, during the financial summit on Oct. 24, Ma criticized the biggest risk of China’s financial system is it does not have a system, which has angered Xi Majesty and got into trouble. But the CCP has also outlined eight key economic tasks for the coming year, with “improving regulations on anti-monopoly and avoiding blind expansion of capital” being one of them, alongside the main objectives of expanding domestic demand and solving the housing problem. The Ant Group was not only massive but also involves in finance, which might have violated “blind expansion of capital.” It seems its fate has already been written.

The Ant Group is definitely not the only target, but also online companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, etc. If the government had not built a protective wall around the internet and forbidden foreign investments such as Google and Facebook to touch the Chinese market, Baidu and WeChat would not have been able to play monopoly regardless of how fast they have developed. When the online companies grow because they were being protected, they would either be penalized in the name of “anti-monopoly” or their property would be robbed to stop them from expanding. The CCP has no regard for property rights, just like when it first took power with its “socialism reform” economy.

After attacking one richest man Wang Jianlin, then another richest man Jack Ma, would Deng Xiaoping, who “let some people get rich first,” be now turning in his grave?

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