One man’s fight with China cost investors $1.3 trillion
The $1.5 billion fine that China imposed on Jack Ma’s companies last week is just a tiny amount of the economic pain that Beijing inflicted on investors in Alibaba and Ant.
As Jack Ma’s clash with the Chinese government draws to a close after almost three years, it’s clear how costly the conflict has proven for his companies, Ant Group and Alibaba Group.
Chinese authorities said on Friday they would wrap up a probe into Ant with the financial technology company paying a fine of almost $US1 billion ($1.5 billion). The investigation began after Ma critiqued Beijing’s regulation of the financial sector in 2020, forcing Ant to pull the plug on what would have been the largest initial public offering in history.
