China: Regulators Reportedly Want Ant Group to Refocus on Payment Products

The People’s Bank of China issued a statement on Dec. 27 criticizing the governance and certain business practices of Ant Group, the financial unit of the e-commerce giant Alibaba, following a recent meeting between bank officials, Chinese financial regulators and company representatives. China’s regulators reportedly want Ant Group to focus its efforts on payments while reducing its efforts on lending, wealth management products and other financial products that it has begun offering in recent years....