Once an illustrious Chinese technology giant, Ant is emerging from a near three-year-long regulatory crackdown that started with the shelving of its planned mega listing in 2020

Regulators say the measures will not apply to firms who don't intend to offer their generative AI services to the Chinese public to encourage development of the technology

Friday's $984 million fine on Ant Group, one of the largest ever for a Chinese internet company, is largely being seen as an end to Beijing’s tech crackdown

Dealmakers hope that Cainiao's potential IPO, likely to be followed by more Alibaba units, could help revive sluggish fundraising activities in Hong Kong

A smaller fine will follow its founder Jack Ma’s recent return to China after staying overseas for more than a year after a dramatic regulatory crackdown

Companies that fall foul of the new rules, likely to come into effect sometime this year, could have their services suspended, face fines or even face a criminal investigation

Alibaba's shares have soared over 14% since the company's break-up plan announcement and $1.7bn in foreign cash has flowed into China's markets

The news of Jack Ma’s return comes on the final day of the China Development forum, a government-funded event being held in Beijing

China saw 229 of its billionaires drop off the Hurun Global Rich List with Jack Ma, founder of e-commerce giant Alibaba, falling to 52nd place from 34th

The move signifies Beijing's changing priorities as it looks to strengthen is capabilities while Washington cuts off access to cutting edge technology

Baidu also said earlier this week it will soon finish internal testing for a ChatGPT alternative called 'Ernie Bot'

The China State Administration for Market Regulation, which is responsible for stopping monopolistic behavior, has fined Alibaba, Tencent and numerous other companies.