The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission division in Chongqing green-lit the company’s plan to lift its capital to 18.5-billion yuan,to a notice on 30 December. Ant, which contributed 5.25-billion yuan as part of the plan, will control half of its shares after the deal, while a unit owned by the city of Hangzhou will hold 10%, becoming the second-biggest shareholder.
The greenlight is another sign that Beijing is softening its stance on its giant internet sector, traditionally a big driver of growth, as the world’s No 2 economy sputters. Last week, authoritiesthe most significant batch of new blockbuster game releases in months, allowing Tencent Holdings to refill a pipeline emptied by the crackdown.
“We view it as a signal on Ant’s regulatory rectification wrap-up,” Leon Qi, an analyst with Daiwa Capital Markets Hong Kong Ltd., wrote in a report. The consumer unit will be able to handle 1.1 trillion yuan of loans once the fundraising is complete, he said.