Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • October 2021 (Revised February 2023)
  • Case
  • HBS Case Collection

Ant Group (A)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu, Susie L. Ma and Kerry Herman
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
ShareBar

Abstract

In 2004, Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba created Alipay, an app to facilitate payments on its e-commerce sites. As Alibaba grew, so did Alipay, until Alipay spawned its own ecosystem of financial technology products and services under the name of Ant Group. By 2020, Ant had one billion users on its platform, which offered investment opportunities, consumer lending, and insurance, targeted towards middle class individuals and small- and medium-sized businesses. In November 2020, Ant Group was poised for its initial public offering (IPO). But the Chinese government canceled the IPO just days before Ant was expected to raise $34 billion at a valuation of $310 billion. Regulators were concerned that Ant’s partners were bearing too much risk and they fretted that the Chinese economy showed signs of rising consumer spending. What was next for Ant Group?

Keywords

Payment Systems; Information Technology; Value Creation; Network Effects; Strategy; Disruptive Innovation; Initial Public Offering; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; China

Citation

Palepu, Krishna G., Feng Zhu, Susie L. Ma, and Kerry Herman. "Ant Group (A)." Harvard Business School Case 122-003, October 2021. (Revised February 2023.)
  • Educators

About The Authors

Krishna G. Palepu

Accounting and Management
→More Publications

Feng Zhu

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

Related Work

    • November 2021
    • Faculty Research

    Ant Group (B)

    By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu and Susie L. Ma
    • October 2021 (Revised February 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Ant Group (A)

    By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu, Susie L. Ma and Kerry Herman
Related Work
  • Ant Group (B) By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu and Susie L. Ma
  • Ant Group (A) By: Krishna G. Palepu, Feng Zhu, Susie L. Ma and Kerry Herman
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College