Ant Group Sells off Stake in 36kr Following Anti-trust Crackdown

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Fintech giant Ant Group has sold its stake in tech news platform 36Kr, following an anti-trust crackdown by Chinese finance regulators which has prompted affected companies to streamline their operations.

Ant Group has sold off its 15.1% stake in 3GKr Holdings, according to a filing made by 3GKR with the US Securities and Exchange Commission last Friday.

3GKr is listed in the US, and operates a range of tech news sites that focus on coverage of the Chinese and Asia-Pacific tech sectors.

Domestic analysts say the move by Ant Group comes in response to an anti-trust crackdown by Chinese authorities, which seeks to contain the “disorderly expansion of capital.”

Prior to the sale of its full stake in 3GKr Holdings, Ant Group trimmed its equity holdings in online insurance firm Zhong An Insurance to 10.37% from 13.53% in January.

Ant Group has been a key focus of the anti-monopoly ire of Chinese regulators since 2020.

In November that year Chinese authorities ordered the shelving of Ant’s proposed dual IPO on the Shanghai and Hong Kong bourses, as well as summoned executives from the Alibaba-affiliate for disciplinary “regulatory discussions,” ordering them to return to their original focus on payments.