[김인경의 亞!금융]China’s Ma-win, whether the elaborate financial empire is dismantled

[이데일리 김인경 기자] The suffering of the founder of Alibaba, Ma Yun, continues. Following the delisting of Alibaba’s financial group, Ant Group, and “wetan” (reservation interview), the government is also considering a plan to forcibly dispose of some of Ant Group’s shares. It means that he will dismantle the’financial empire’ that Ma Win created.

“China demands Ant Group to dispose of some corporate investments”

According to Bloomberg News and Reuters on the 31st, the China Securities Supervisory Commission (SCRC) is considering a method of forcibly disposing of shares in technology and fintech startups and financial industries that Ant Group has invested in. The authorities plan to judge the investment interests that are’not essential to the business’ and impose compulsory disposition. However, it was not specifically stated what the investment target was.

This is a concrete measure of what the Chinese authorities ordered the Ant Group to clear up its governance structure. According to Bloomberg, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), the Bank Supervisory Commission, and the Securities Supervisory Commission had previously demanded that “Ant Group’s business should be completely reorganized.”

Ant Group’s external investment is $21.6 billion (2.3 trillion won), a total of 81 cases, of which $17.4 billion (19 trillion won) and 55 are domestic institutions and companies. This includes a number of cryptocurrency and fintech companies, as well as the Chinese version of Uber’Didichusing’, Chinese shared bicycle company HelloBike, and China Post Savings Bank. Foreign media said that the sale of the stake in Hello Bike is already coming out.

Of course, it is impossible for the state to force a company to sell its assets. However, officials are evaluating that it can induce the sale of the Ant Group by converting it from the current system to a financial holding company.

In addition, when Ant Group converts into a financial holding company and expands its capital, China’s pension fund or China International Investment Corporation (CICC) can participate to strengthen Ant Group’s government control. Already sovereign pension funds and CICC are major shareholders of Ant Group. It is said that there is a possibility of expanding the control of Ant Group through the capital increase, selling existing investments, or controlling future corporate strategies.

Ma Yun, founder of Alibaba[AFPBB 제공]

Communist Party reins running horses

According to foreign media, an official of the Antitrust Committee of the State Council of China explained that “the purpose is to suppress Ma Yun,” and “it is like putting a rein on a horse.” In front of the People’s Bank Chairman Lee Kang and Vice President Wang Chi-san of China, he will remove the power of Ma Yun, who was not hesitant to criticize the authorities.

Ma Yun also criticized Chinese authorities at the Bund Financial Summit in Shanghai in October, before the ban on listing of Ant Group was decided, saying, “You cannot manage the future in the past, just as you cannot manage airports by managing train stations.” did. However, recently, Ma’s appearance has not been found in the official seats. It has even disappeared from the promotional material of’African Business Heroes’, a TV show that he made while saying’I felt thrilled. The TV show is about Ma Win’s own presentation of participants who come up with business ideas, and then imposes huge prize money on the winner.

The Nippon Geizai Shimbun reported that there is a high possibility that the Chinese government is demanding the complete resignation of Ma Yun, who actually holds the control of Ant Group.

In addition, there is an analysis that the government is hiding a strategy that the government will bring the share of advanced finance such as’electronic payment service’ by completely retiring Ma Yun and strengthening the government’s dominance over Ant Group. Ant Group operates China’s largest digital pay’Alipay (Chinese name Zfubao)’ with 730 million monthly users.

The Chinese government is one of the most rushing to issue digital currency (CBDC) to counter the dollar, the global key currency. Since 2014, digital renminbi has been prepared, and from last year, it has been conducting trial operations in some cities.

As the government directly issues digital currency, it is analyzed that it is necessary to shake the existing’pay market’. In fact, Yao Chen, the director of the China Securities Supervisory Commission, said, “The digital currency system does not need to rely on any intermediary function.” Of course, pay companies such as Alipay and WeChat Pay are the mediators.