Fidelity Slashes Valuation of Restructured Ant Group of China

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U.S. asset manager Fidelity Investments has cut its valuation of Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group in half in its latest filings assessing the worth of the shares its funds hold in the group, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The new valuation for the Jack Ma-founded company, the subject of a regulatory clampdown from Beijing that has halted its stock market flotation, was $144 billion as at the end of February, according to regulatory filings cited by the WSJ.

That figure compares to an appraised value of $295 billion as at the end of August. Fidelity was among a small group of global investors that bought into Ant three years ago.

Ant’s initial public offering was canceled in spectacular fashion last November and Chinese regulators later ordered the enterprise to convert into a financial holding company, denting Ant’s appeal in the eyes of investors.

China Forces Restructuring of Ant Group into Financial Holding Firm

Fidelity and Ant Group did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

(Reporting by Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru)

Top Photo: FILE – In this Oct. 26, 2020, file photo, a view of the signage of Ant Group in the headquarters compound of the fintech giant in Hangzhou in eastern China’s Zhejiang province. (Chinatopix Via AP, File)