Chinese regulators have said e-commerce giant Alibaba’s finance affiliate Ant Group can raise $1.5 billion for its consumer finance unit in an important step forward after the government called off a planned IPO two years ago and ordered the firm to restructure.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) in the southwestern city of Chongqing said in a notice dated Dec. 30 that Ant’s consumer credit unit had gained approval to increase its capital to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) from 8 billion yuan ($1.16 billion).
