​MNI POLICY: China Open To Joint Lending With Ant Group

China's top banking regulator said it wishes for "everyone to conduct more cooperation business" with Ant Group in accordance with laws and regulations, and that the regulator will respect global consensus and rules, even as the fintech giant's planned IPO was suspended by securities regulators.

China's top banking regulator said everyone is free to cooperate with Ant Group in accordance with laws and regulations, and that the regulator will respect global rules following the suspension of the group's IPO.

"All listed companies should observe the relevant legal and regulatory requirements," Liang Tao, the vice chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, told reporters at a briefing on Friday when asked whether the IPO would be allowed to proceed later. The CBIRC supports the suspension decision, he said.

The regulator Thursday denied reports that it has asked banks to stop co-lending with Ant Group. Liang's comments suggested Ant Group will be allowed to continue lending in partnership with China's larger commercial banks, which are mostly state-owned.

But the briefing on promoting loans to small businesses, jointly presented with the People's Bank of China, didn't give any indication on whether the IPO will be allowed to resume.

"I think the suspension decision is due to considering the interests of both financial consumers and investors, to keep the capital market's long-term healthy development in accordance with laws and regulations," Liu said.

"We should promote innovation and encourage entrepreneurism, while also increasing financial supervision and the area under supervision and effectively prevent risks," PBOC Deputy Governor Liu Guoqiang said at the same briefing.