Fintech giant Ant Group is in discussions with Chinese state-owned enterprises to found a credit-scoring company, reported the Wall Street Journal. The plan would place Ant’s proprietary consumer data under the purview of Chinese regulators.
The new company, which may be brought into existence as quickly as the third quarter of 2021, could see Ant relinquishing some control over the data it holds. Alipay, Ant’s app in which you can spend, borrow or invest money, has over 1 billion users and the company maintains data records of said users’ financial habits.
The talks between Ant, which is controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, and Chinese state-owned companies are likely to result in the formation of a joint venture that would be licensed as a credit-scoring company. Ant and regulators have also been discussing whether the firm should be run and controlled by Ant or state-owned companies, according to people familiar with the matter.