BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s Ant group on Friday set a set of rules for financial self-discipline amid intense scrutiny of its activities by authorities and the tightening of the country’s financial technology regulations.
The rules, the first of their kind published publicly by the financial technology giant, come about four months after China suspended the group’s $ 37 billion plan to trade shares in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Chinese regulators have tightened control of fintech technology companies amid concerns about systemic financial risks posed by the financial empire affiliated with Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group.
In response to intense regulatory pressure, the group has been controlling some of its operations, taking steps to align capital requirements with those of banks and renewing itself in a financial holding company.
In a statement, Ant said their consumer lending platforms should not issue loans to minors and should prevent small business loans from flowing into the stock and real estate markets.
The group’s credit rating service, Zhima Credit, will also not be available to financial institutions, including micro lenders, without detailing the specific risk of such collaborations.
Reflecting the tough stance of regulators on financial risks, Guo Shuqing, head of China’s Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, warned last week that bubble risk was a core issue in China’s real estate sector.
As for Ant’s business restructuring, Guo said there were no restrictions on the financial business he develops, but that all of his financial activities should be regulated by law.
Earlier, Ant lowered its loan limits for some young users of its Huabei virtual card product. Reducing the credit limit is intended to promote more “rational” spending habits among users, he said.
Reports by Cheng Leng, Yingzhi Yang and Ryan Woo; Edited by Christopher Cushing and Muralikumar Anantharaman