Shares of Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) were on an upswing in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the e-commerce giant’s affiliate, Ant Group was granted approval by Chinese regulators to raise $1.5 billion for its consumer finance unit.
On December 30, The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission allowed Ant Group to raise the amount of registered capital for the company’s consumer unit, to 18.5 billion yuan from 8 billion yuan.
BABA has a 33% stake in Ant Group and the company is working with regulators to restructure its business after its massive IPO was abruptly suspended in 2020.
Following the IPO, Ant Group will still have a 50% stake in the consumer finance company while the other investors will include an entity backed by the Hangzhou government and Sunny Optical Technology.
Analysts remain bullish about BABA stock with a Strong Buy consensus rating based on a unanimous 14 Buys.
