Ant Group receives Chinese approval for consumer finance spinoff

License comes after months of pressure against Jack Ma's fintech company

20210603N Ant Group

Ant Group's headquarters in Hangzhou, China: The company has faced increased scrutiny from Chinese regulators since last year. © Reuters

YUSHO CHO, Nikkei staff writer

SHANGHAI -- Chinese regulators gave their approval Thursday to Jack Ma's Ant Group to start operating a consumer finance unit after months of pressure to adopt more comprehensive oversight and obtain necessary licenses.

Ant will shift consumer lending operations to the new subsidiary and is expected to provide half the new company's total capital of 8 billion yuan ($1.25 billion).

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