The decision to delay Ant’s listing was made several months ago, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Since then, the business environment has continued to deteriorate while liquidity in China has tightened. Bankers also said that Ant, backed by deep-pocketed Alibaba, did not need to raise cash. Ant said it had never had a timetable for listing, and played down the regulatory threats to its business. “A regulated and orderly market is good for players like us and we view compliance as a prerequisite to doing business,” said a spokesperson. “We have proactively engaged the regulators and they have been supportive of our efforts to promote financial inclusion.”

https://www.ft.com/content/4703b2c0-9a18-11e8-ab77-f854c65a4465