China pulls plug on Ant Group IPO

The Shanghai bourse stunned the market on Tuesday after halting Ant Group’s $34bn IPO, a deal which was set to be the largest listing in history. The extraordinary move, likely spurred by comments from Ant’s co-founder Jack Ma that criticised authorities for stifling innovation in China, is expected to delay the listing by at least six months. It will also force investors to revalue the company.