On Wednesday, January 04, 2023, the Chinese regulator approved the financial services group's plan to raise $1.5 billion for its consumer credit subsidiary. It is an obstacle to overcome on the path to regulatory compliance for Ant Group.

The green light granted to the group was essential to the overhaul of the Chinese fintech giant ordered by Beijing and removes an obstacle before restarting its IPO project. Indeed, according to Leon Qi, an analyst at Daiwa Capital in Hong Kong, this green light is “considered to be a signal that Ant's regulatory rectification has been completed.” For their part, investors believe that this green light is a desire by Beijing to relax its regulatory crackdown on its high-tech sector.

In reality, over the past two years, Ant Group has undergone a colossal restructuring and redesign of its activities, aimed at meeting Beijing's regulatory requirements. The company has thus separated its mobile payment service Alipay from its highly lucrative consumer credit activities. Ant Group will be able to hold a maximum of 50% of the subsidiary's shares while a public entity owned by the city of Hangzhou (Alibaba's head office) will hold 10%, becoming the second largest shareholder.