BEIJING/SHANGHAI: Alibaba Group Holding Ltd’s finance arm has been given government approval to set up a private bank, China’s banking regulator said yesterday, the latest step in the e-commerce company’s push into the financial services sector.
Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group, an Alibaba affiliate that contains the company’s Alipay payment processing and financial services arm, will hold 30 per cent of the bank, the regulator said.
Shanghai JuneYao Group Co Ltd, the parent of Juneyao Airlines, also received regulatory approval to set up its own bank, and will own a 30 per cent stake, according to the regulator.
The other shareholders in the Zhejiang Ant bank will be Shanghai Fosun Industrial Technology, a subsidiary of Fosun International Ltd, with a 25 per cent stake; a subsidiary of Wanxiang Group will hold 18 per cent; and Ningbo Jinrun Asset Management will own 16 per cent. Other stakeholders will be audited by the Zhejiang banking regulator.
The banks should take six months to set up and will also have to apply to start operations, the regulator said. Reuters