Jack Ma's Ant Could See Valuation Drop To As Low As $29B With Changes Forced By Regulations: Report

Alibaba Group Holdings Ltd (NYSE: BABA)-backed Ant Group’s valuation could potentially plummet to as low as $29 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Francis Chan.

What Happened: The company’s valuation could drop to a range of $29 billion to $115 billion, from $320 billion in November when the company was forced to scrap its record initial public offering, a Bloomberg report on the matter said. 

The steep fall in valuation is expected as the Chinese company becomes a financial holding firm that’s regulated more like a bank — lowering its revenue growth significantly and profits, according to Chan.

Jack Ma’s Ant and China’s other fintech giants have faced multiple setbacks due to regulatory curbs ranging from online lending to payments, wealth management, and insurance.

See Also: Why Alibaba Just Got Hit With A Record $2.87 Billion Fine In China

Ant’s consumer lending units Huabei and Jiebei could be hit with their links being removed from Alipay, which has at least a billion users.

Ant’s valuation may not top even $75 billion if it is continued to be treated as a traditional lender, as per Chan.

Why It Matters: Alibaba was earlier this month slapped with a record $2.8 billion fine by China’s regulators who after a monopoly probe found that the company had abused its dominant market position.

Alibaba had last year come under the Chinese regulatory spotlight after its co-founder Ma, the country’s most-famed billionaire, made comments that were critical of Chinese regulations at an event in Shanghai in October.

Price Action: Shares of Alibaba closed 0.27% lower at $232.70 on Monday.

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