After a tough two years, Chinese e-commerce behemoth Alibaba Group Holding Limited (BABA) is rebounding this year, driven by China’s reopening after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions and the possibility of regulatory scrutiny coming to an end. On July 7, a long-running regulatory crackdown on BABA’s financial arm Ant Group ended with a fine of 7.12 billion yuan ($985 million).
BABA owns about a 33% stake in Ant Group. Several recent signs have emerged, indicating that Ant has been on the right side of regulators. In January this year, the company received approval to expand its consumer finance business.
