DBS chief welcomes China's fintech clampdown after Ant scrutiny

[SINGAPORE] DBS Group's top executive welcomes the increased regulatory scrutiny of financial technology companies in China and elsewhere in Asia, saying it will create fairer competition with banks that have been subject to stricter oversight.

"Over time you will start getting a more level playing field, and you'll start getting a proportionate and even regulatory response to all participants in the market," chief executive officer Piyush Gupta said in an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday.

Mr Gupta spoke after being asked for his view on the shelving of Ant Group's initial public offering (IPO) in China as regulators seek to level competition between fintech giants and traditional banks.

"Our view has been in the past that many technology companies have been able to benefit from the arbitrage of not having the same regulatory regime and supervision overhead that banks do," Mr Gupta said. "And so as we get to that stage that's actually helpful to us."

While declining to comment on his plan to merge the bank's India unit with struggling Lakshmi Vilas Bank due to pending regulatory approval, Mr Gupta said such a deal won't impact DBS's dividend payment. China, India and Indonesia are key regional markets the bank is expanding into, he said.

BLOOMBERG

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