The suspension of what was set to be a record-breaking initial public offering by Jack Ma’s Ant Group sends the signal that terms must benefit China’s Communist Party and President Xi Jinping. Chinese regulators suspended the company’s planned IPO late Tuesday night, following interviews with Ma and other executives. (Bloomberg, The Logic)

Talking point: “The party is flexing its muscle,” said Victor Shih, associate professor at UC San Diego. “It’s saying to Jack Ma, ‘You are going to have the biggest IPO in the world, but that’s not a big deal for the CCP, which oversees the world’s second-largest economy.’” If the IPO went forward, it could give Ant too much sway over the financial system, in the ruling party’s view, and undermine its power, but it also casts doubt on Hong Kong and Shanghai’s viability as premium financial centres for foreign investors. It comes after Ma gave a controversial speech on October 24 that criticized global regulators and Chinese measures around stifling innovation. He compared the way conventional banking businesses in China are run to “pawn shops” and criticized there being too much red tape in the country’s financial regulation. China reportedly has bigger plans to rein in Ma’s empire, with authorities eying Ant’s credit platforms, sources told Bloomberg.