China’s Ant Group gets regulatory approval for $1.5 billion funding

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission division has approved Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co.'s plan to raise 10.5 billion yuan ($1.5 billion USD) for its consumer unit, per a report by Bloomberg.

The approval by the regulatory body will allow the company to boost its capital to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.7 billion USD).

The approval comes as analysts predict a return of Ant’s IPO plans, following an entity owned by the Alibaba-backed fintech giant winning rights for a plot of land in Shanghai.

Of that amount, Ant contributed 5.25 billion yuan ($761 million USD). The company will control half of its shares, while a unit owned by the city of Hangzhou will control 10%. This makes the latter the second-largest shareholder of Ant.

Other new investors include Sunny Optical Technology Group Co. and Jiangsu Yuyue Medical Equipment & Supply Co.