China's Central Bank Orders Ant Group To Rectify Operations : Reports

(RTTNews) - China's central bank has ordered Ant Group to rectify its operations and comply with regulatory requirements, according to several media reports.

Billionaire Jack Ma's Alibaba holds about 33 percent ownership in Ant Group.

The People's Bank of China, the securities regulators are targeting Ant's lending, wealth management and insurance services, asking the company to stick to its traditional service of facilitating payments, the reports said.

The central bank reportedly has ordered Ant to establish a separate financial holding company to ensure it has sufficient capital to support its operations.

Ant reportedly said it will form a special team to meet the government's demands.

The heightened government pressure follows an antitrust probe by Chinese regulators into Alibaba this past week.

The Chinese Government agency launched a probe into Alibaba's "choosing one from two" practice.

Under the practice, merchants are required to sign exclusive cooperation agreements that prevent them from offering products on rival platforms. The investigation was part of the country's efforts to crack down monopolistic behavior in its internet space. Regulators earlier had warned Alibaba about its practice.

In November, Ant's planned $37 billion initial public offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong, which was supposed to be the world's largest IPO, was suspended, citing that the company might not meet listing qualifications or disclosure requirement.