By Scott Murdoch and Julie ZhuAfter the penalty on Friday, Jack Ma-founded Alibaba affiliate Ant announced an up to $6 billion share buyback that values the fintech company at a 75% discount to that touted in an abandoned initial public offering (IPO) but was considered to provide liquidity and certainty for investors. The abrupt cancellation of Ant's IPO in late 2020 heralded the start of a wide-ranging clampdown by Beijing on industries from technology to education, as regulators sought to contain what they saw as excesses and bad practice after years of runaway growth. "Ant could have achieved both these objectives through an IPO