Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.comReviving growth will be less straightforward. Didi faces a raft of new rules aimed at protecting China's gig economy workers. Those range from providing social insurance to a cap on how much they can siphon from driver fees. That will push up costs at the unprofitable company.
For ByteDance, an online advertising slowdown looms large. Efforts to diversify into video games and education have led to layoffs. Cybersecurity authorities also are preparing restrictions on how algorithms can be used to reel in viewers. Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok and ByteDance's main money-spinner, has started to let users opt out of personalised recommendations.
Ant has the clearest path ahead. Its fast-growing credit business was curbed, but the company retains its payments dominance. And in a sign that regulatory pressure may be easing, its consumer finance division in June secured an important licence in micro-lending, insurance, fixed income securities and more, putting a vital part of its operation back on track.
What’s more, the central bank in November accepted the application of a personal credit-scoring business 35%-owned by the company. Such progress might even pave the way for a long-delayed IPO, and puts Ant in position to be the best of the BAD bunch.