A view of Alipay's building in Lujiazui, Shanghai in January. Photo: cnsphotos

Ant Group, Alibaba's financial arm, increased its registered capital by about 47 percent to 35 billion yuan ($5.43 billion), in a move intended to comply with regulatory requirements, while ramping up its room for growth.

Data from online business index platform Qichacha showed on Monday that Ant's registered capital has increased to 35 billion yuan from 23.8 billion yuan. The increase was approved on September 30.

According to regulations and its business needs, Ant Group increased its registered capital to better support the company's growth, an Ant Group spokesperson told the Global Times on Monday.

"The change in Ant Group's registered capital came from capitalization of the company's capital reserve. The company has not conducted any fundraising activities and there are no additional investors involved," the spokesperson said.

In April, Ant Group was told to restructure itself into a financial holding company as part of a multifaceted review that affected various aspects of the firm's businesses, including payments and consumer data. The overhauled group is subject to tougher regulatory supervision and capital requirements.

In November 2020, China's regulatory authorities ordered the suspension of Ant's planned dual IPOs on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock exchanges. The flotation had been set to be the largest in history, as it was expected to raise up to $35 billion. Since then, policymakers have been tightening rules and regulations related to the fintech industry.

The People's Bank of China issued a draft rule targeting non-bank payment institutions in January and February, aiming to prevent payment risks and promote the sound development of the domestic payment services market, with an emphasis on strengthening antitrust supervision in the sector, according to the central bank's website.

Global Times