State-backed firms will take a sizeable stake in a key Ant Group company for the first time, which is likely to help revive the Chinese fintech giant’s initial public offering (IPO) but also see a loosening of the company’s grip on its stockpile of data collected from its over 1 billion users, reports Reuters.
Under the plan, Ant and Zhejiang Tourism Investment Group will each own 35% of the venture, while other state-backed partners, Hangzhou Finance and Investment Group and Zhejiang Electronic Port, will each hold slightly more than 5%, said one of the people who spoke to Reuters.
Reuters said that under the new ownership a personal credit-scoring firm would be established, adding that such a firm and ownership structure had been ordered by regulators who put a sudden stop to Ant’s blockbuster IPO plans last November.
