The planned acquisition follows the Chinese financial technology group’s purchase of Singapore-based payments firm 2C2P

The People’s Bank of China has confirmed the payment app no longer has a controller after Ma gave up most of his voting rights

Among other measures, the rules implement tougher licensing regulations and call for stronger protection of user information and payment accounts

"The shelving is a surprise and makes us wonder if there are issues behind the scenes that we aren't aware of," one analyst said, but news that Jack Ma's family trust was selling shares likely also hurt the stock

Patent applications filed by Chinese companies have surged in the last five years since the US began its tech curbs campaign

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'