In the first major easing of tensions between Beijing and Jack Ma’s Ant Group, Chinese regulators have licensed the company to start operating a new consumer finance company, reports the FT.
The company will form the heart of Ant’s restructured lending business, which issued around one-tenth of China’s non-mortgage consumer loans, through its Alipay app, in 2020.
This large-scale business had caught financial regulators off guard when its size was first revealed in the prospectus for Ant’s $37 billion initial public offering, and has been a focus of authorities’ scrutiny since they suspended Ant’s listing last November.
The newly licensed unit is called Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance and can issue consumer loans, borrow from banks and issue bonds, according to the announcement from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
