This undated file photo shows the headquarters of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province. (NIU JING / CHINA DAILY)

The delay of Ant Group's US$34.4 billion IPO is unlikely to affect the credit rating of its parent company, Alibaba, according to a leading global rating agency.

"We do not expect the delay in Ant's IPO to adversely affect Alibaba's credit profile," said Kelvin Ho, director of Asia-Pacific Corporates, Fitch Ratings.

Ant Group is a 33 percent-owned associated company of Alibaba.

We do not expect the delay in Ant's IPO to adversely affect Alibaba's credit profile.

Kelvin Ho, Director of Asia-Pacific Corporates, Fitch Ratings

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"Alibaba's ratings are underpinned by its strong market position in China's online shopping and cloud service markets, its high profitability, robust free cash flow generation, and a highly conservative capital structure with a significant net cash position," Ho said.

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Chinese financial regulators explained the action is to better protect the interests of financial consumers and investors and sustain sound capital market development in the long run. High-leverage lending and excessive debt to a broad group of individuals may threat financial stability.