The cloud unit is Alibaba's second-biggest money spinner, valued at $41 billion to $60 billion ahead of an IPO planned for next year

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

Investors are now hoping the strict rules that have stymied growth since late 2020 will start to ease, after China's central bank slapped a nearly $1 billion fine on Ant Group

The announcement came a day after the group was fined $984 million in what is likely to be the end of a years-long regulatory crackdown on the once storied Chinese company

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

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

Seven executives of Ant have left the Alibaba Partnership, the body that elects the e-commerce giant's board, following a demand by regulators that the two tech giants be 'decoupled'

Tencent Holdings, Ant Group, Baidu and JD.com are among signatories to a pact to stop secondary trading in NFTs and other digital collectibles

Beijing's harsh regulatory crackdown means Ant now stresses its autonomy, to the point that Alibaba might even compete with its one-time sister company

Billionaire Jack Ma's fintech group  aims to file a preliminary prospectus for the share offering in Shanghai and Hong Kong as early as next month, sources told Reuters

The Monetary Authority of Singapore gave approval on June 2 to an application for the bank to commence business, Ant and wholly-owned ANEXT said in a statement

As well as chairing Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing, the bourse's parent company, Cha also sits on the Hong Kong government’s executive council