Fleecy clouds: the future and the past of IPOs in mainland China

Mainland China’s capital markets are not entirely akin to their Western counterparts: the regulator of the two stock exchanges (the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission, or CSRC) is directly affiliated with the government; the main players are state-owned enterprises (SOEs) rather than private corporations; and political and economic stability are prioritized over the liberalization of market forces. Recently, the connection between politics and financial markets has been under global scrutiny due to the blockage of the IPO of Ant Group, magnate Jack Ma’s fintech giant, by Chinese elites fearing an excessive risk of volatility.