China Tells Ant to Refocus on Payments Business

China’s financial regulators told Ant Group Co., the financial-technology giant controlled by billionaire Jack Ma, to switch its focus back to its mainstay payments business and rectify problems in faster-growing areas such as personal lending, insurance and wealth management.

The order, outlined Sunday by China’s central bank, represents the latest step by Beijing to rein in its largest technology companies, and it could signal Ant will have difficulty making further inroads into lucrative areas it had previously targeted for growth.

Authorities also criticized Ant for its behavior toward competitors and consumers, saying it “despised” complying with regulations. They accused Ant of engaging in regulatory arbitrage and having problematic corporate governance, without providing examples.

The statement from the People’s Bank of China followed a Saturday meeting between the PBOC, Ant, and China’s securities, banking and foreign-exchange regulators. It was written as a Q&A with the bank’s vice governor, Pan Gongsheng.

In the meeting, regulators made several other demands of Ant, the central bank said. These included telling it to safeguard personal data in its credit business, to improve corporate governance, and to act prudently in its financial-services businesses.