Jack Ma has built his fortune disrupting the status quo. In just over two decades the entrepreneur has helped to revolutionise China’s economy by changing the way millions of its citizens buy, sell and invest. This time, however, the limelight-seeking billionaire appears to have flown a little too close to the sun. Mr Ma’s swipe at China’s state-dominated banking system, just days before the expected flotation of Ant Group, his online finance business, caused consternation in Beijing. The result has been the dramatic suspension of Ant’s market debut.
馬雲(Jack Ma)透過顛覆現狀積累起了自己的財富。在短短二十餘年中，他透過改變無數中國人購物、銷售和投資的方式，幫助中國經濟發生了鉅變。然而，這一次，這位愛出風頭的億萬富翁似乎飛得離太陽太近了。就在他的網路金融企業螞蟻集團(Ant Group)即將上市的幾天前，他對中國由國家主導的銀行體系作出尖銳批評，令北京方面感到震驚。其結果是螞蟻集團的上市遭到了戲劇性的暫停。
Beijing’s eleventh-hour decision carries obvious risks. Predictable regulation helps to underpin confidence in markets and the economy. Unexpected changes, especially if politically-driven, are usually damaging. By, in effect, bringing Mr Ma to heel, Beijing has shown two things: one, no individual or company is more important than the state, and two, its central priority is to ensure domestic economic stability.
北京方面在最後一刻做出的決定明顯帶有風險。可預測的監管有助於鞏固對市場和經濟的信心。而意料之外的變化——尤其是出於政治原因導致的變化——通常具有破壞性。實際上，透過迫使馬雲就範，北京方面表明了兩件事：第一，沒有任何個人或企業比國家更重要；第二，中國政府的首要任務是確保國內經濟穩定。
The tussle with Ant is also a high-profile example of the wider global debate over regulation in digital banking. Most of today’s challenger banks emerged after the 2008 crisis. Their slick, web-based offerings contrasted sharply with the frequently poor service of traditional lenders. The pandemic marks the first downturn to confront the new entrants. It should have been an opportunity to grab market share. Instead, indications in Europe at least are that established banks have benefited from a flight to safety.
與螞蟻集團之間的這場鬥爭，也是全球圍繞數字銀行監管展開的更廣泛辯論中的一個引人注目的例子。今天的挑戰者銀行大多是在2008年金融危機之後出現的。他們靈活的、基於網路的服務與傳統銀行往往糟糕的服務形成了鮮明對比。這次疫情是這些新晉銀行所面臨的首次經濟低迷。這本該是它們一個搶佔市場份額的機會。但恰恰相反，至少在歐洲有跡象表明，老牌銀行已經從投資者轉向安全資產以躲避風險的行爲中獲益。
