Funding round said to value Alibaba's Ant Financial at over $40bn

Alibaba Group Holding finance affiliate Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group has closed a private placement valuing it at more than US$40 billion and granting stakes to China’s National Social Security Fund and China Development Bank Capital, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources and local media. Ant Financial, controlled by Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma, runs China’s largest online payments business; it will open an online bank called MYbank on June 25, the sources said. The finance affiliate plans an initial public offering next year that will purportedly include a partnership structure allowing top management to nominate most of its directors.