Crackdown in China, hope in India

China’s sweeping overhaul of its tech sector could benefit India in the near future

Last year, China stopped Ant Group’s blockbuster initial public offering. This came as a shock to the world as Ant Group, Alibaba’s fintech arm, was on track to raise $37 billion and its valuation was reportedly nearing more than $300 billion. This episode was perceived as an attempt to rein in the successful entrepreneur, Jack Ma. Prior to this incident, he had committed one of the cardinal sins in modern China, which was to publicly criticise the government’s tech policy for stifling innovation.

A year since, hardly a week goes by without the world hearing of yet another high-profile crackdown on a Chinese tech company. China has foisted sweeping regulations, antitrust and anti-monopoly lawsuits, cyber security probes, and algorithm controls on the entire tech segment, ranging from e-commerce websites, search engines, ride sharing and food delivery apps to e-learning portals. These clampdowns are estimated to have wiped off over $1.5 trillion of value from Chinese tech stocks.