The People's Bank of China's (PBOC) expected approval of the plan is the latest sign that Ant, a tech giant with financial businesses stretching from payments to wealth management, is poised to emerge from a regulatory crackdown.
The scuttled IPO marked the start of the crackdown that hit China's technology giants and was quickly extended to other sectors, including property and private education, wiping billions off market values and triggering layoffs at some firms. Beijing, however, has softened its stance in the last few months. Vice-Premier Liu He told tech executives last month the government supported the development of the sector.