A report from Bloomberg stated that China's central bank governor Yi Gang raised the possibility on Tuesday that Ant Group, controlled by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, could be allowed to pursue an initial public offering once it fully complies with the country's law and has addressed customer complaints.

Previously regulators abruptly shut down Ant Group's US$34.5 billion dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong in November over concerns that the world's largest financial technology company posed a systemic risk and was violating consumers' privacy. Soon after, Beijing announced a raft of new fintech regulations and an antitrust inquiry into the nation's technology sector.

The Hangzhou-based group, which operates the ubiquitous Alipay mobile payments platform, and its rivals, such as JD.com's fintech unit, have begun restructuring their businesses to comply with the new rules. The updated rules include restrictions on how so-called digital gatekeepers, dominated by Silicon Valley giants such as Facebook and Google, use consumer data in their businesses.

Advisor's and analysts at Huber Management had a balanced view on this report and news stating that “although a great opportunity it comes with many risks”

“The key point is: while you have an environment that encourages financial innovation, at the same time, the legal framework has to be very clear. For example, the ownership of the data and how to protect consumer privacy and also how to safeguard against the abuse of some monopoly power, is very important.” said George Hyota, Financial Analyst at Huber Management HQ in Seoul, South Korea.

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• Open a Huber Management account and become a valued client or log-in if you are already a client.
• Speak to an advisor about your investment objectives and requirements
• Choose from multiple investment vehicles that are tailored to your own specific investment objective.

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