China’s top watchdog vows ‘special’ oversight of fintech giants

Quick response (QR) codes for Ant Group Co’s Alipay digital payment service (center) and Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat Pay (right) at a restaurant in Hangzhou. China has called for deeper antitrust oversight of technology firms such as Alibaba Group Holding Co and Tencent Holdings Ltd, which have expanded into finance with little oversight, posing a growing challenge to traditional banks and regulators. — Bloomberg

China plans to impose “special and innovative regulatory measures” on financial technology behemoths such as Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co to eliminate monopolistic practices and strengthen risk controls.

Advances in technology have brought tremendous change to the financial sector, Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and Party Secretary of the central bank, wrote in an article outlining regulations over the next five years. It was cited in the official Shanghai Securities News.