“Chinese authorities are poised to impose a fine of more than $1 billion on Jack Ma’s Ant Group, said six sources with direct knowledge of the matter, setting the stage for ending the fintech company’s two-year long regulatory overhaul. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC), which has been driving the revamp at Ant after the Chinese firm’s $37 billion IPO was scuttled at the last minute in 2020, is the regulator that is readying the fine, said five of the sources.”

“Ant Group said on Monday it would help four Asian e-wallets, including the Philippines’ GCash and Malaysia’s Touch’n Go expand into South Korea with its cross-border payment service Alipay+, as travel restrictions begin to lift across Asia. The move will allow users of e-wallets that use Alipay+, including GCash, Touch’n Go, Thailand’s TrueMoney, and AlipayHK to pay at over 120,000 merchants using their local mobile payments apps when travelling in South Korea, the Chinese fintech giant said in a statement.”

“China’s billionaire tech boss Jack Ma plans to cede control of Ant Group, the fintech powerhouse closely affiliated with Alibaba, the e-commerce giant he founded, The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday. If realized, the move will mark another important turn in Ant’s restructuring and power shuffling since China called off its $35 billion initial public offering nearly two years ago.”