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.
马云(Jack Ma)通过颠覆现状积累起了自己的财富。在短短二十余年中，他通过改变无数中国人购物、销售和投资的方式，帮助中国经济发生了巨变。然而，这一次，这位爱出风头的亿万富翁似乎飞得离太阳太近了。就在他的互联网金融企业蚂蚁集团(Ant Group)即将上市的几天前，他对中国由国家主导的银行体系作出尖锐批评，令北京方面感到震惊。其结果是蚂蚁集团的上市遭到了戏剧性的暂停。
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.
北京方面在最后一刻做出的决定明显带有风险。可预测的监管有助于巩固对市场和经济的信心。而意料之外的变化——尤其是出于政治原因导致的变化——通常具有破坏性。实际上，通过迫使马云就范，北京方面表明了两件事：第一，没有任何个人或企业比国家更重要；第二，中国政府的首要任务是确保国内经济稳定。
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.
与蚂蚁集团之间的这场斗争，也是全球围绕数字银行监管展开的更广泛辩论中的一个引人注目的例子。今天的挑战者银行大多是在2008年金融危机之后出现的。他们灵活的、基于网络的服务与传统银行往往糟糕的服务形成了鲜明对比。这次疫情是这些新晋银行所面临的首次经济低迷。这本该是它们一个抢占市场份额的机会。但恰恰相反，至少在欧洲有迹象表明，老牌银行已经从投资者转向安全资产以躲避风险的行为中获益。
