Chinese President halted Ant's IPO after Ma criticized govt: Report

China’s President Xi Jinping personally decided to stop Ant Group’s $37-billion initial public offering, days after founder Jack Ma said that the country’s financial watchdogs must be reformed to fuel growth as they stifle innovation.

The IPO would have been the world's largest ever.

Ma made the scathing speech during a summit in Shanghai on Oct. 24, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Soon after, state regulators began compiling reports about Ant, including one on how it had supposedly encouraged poor and young people to build up debt through digital financial products like Huabei, a virtual credit card service.

The general office of the State Council then submitted a report on public sentiment about Ma’s speech to senior leaders, including Xi, that set off a chain of events.

Consequently, Xi ordered Chinese regulators to investigate leading to the shutting down of Ant's stock market flotation.