Chinese regulators have ordered Ant to separate from its main business the company’s two lending units — Huabei and Jiebei — into a new entity and bring in outside shareholders. The plan would also require Ant to turn over the user data that underpins its lending decisions to a new and separate credit scoring joint venture that would be partly state-owned. Ant will not be China’s only online lender affected by the new rules. The central bank told industry players that lending decisions must be made based on data from an approved credit scoring company rather than proprietary data.

News source: South China Morning Post and Financial Times