Commentary: Ant Group will be back, but its path may not be ...

SINGAPORE: China's Ant Group is in a strange fix. The financial technology (fintech) firm went within days from being on the cusp of the world's largest initial public offering (IPO) to those plans being thwarted through new regulations from its own government. This sudden development has not only disappointed investors but also raised concerns on its impact on Ant and its future trajectory. The Alibaba-linked company was supposed to raise US$37 billion through listings in Shanghai and Hong Kong on Nov 5 - eclipsing the US$26 billion IPO of Saudi Aramco last December. In the lead up to the much-anticipated listing, the group faced great pressure from the Donald Trump administration in the US to derail these plans. Last month, the US State Department had proposed to add Ant Group to a trade blacklist in its effort to prevent US investors from participating in the Chinese company'...