Ant's consumer finance unit to boost its capital to $4.7 bln (updated)

China Cinda Asset Management

24/12/2021 11:06

(Adds details, background)
    BEIJING, Dec 24 (Reuters) - The consumer finance unit of
China's Ant Group will boost the company's capital to 30 billion
yuan ($4.71 billion) from 8 billion yuan, and introduce 4 new
strategic investors, an exchange filing released on Friday said.
    The unit, Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance Co Ltd, is under
regulatory pressure to fold Ant's two lucrative micro-loan
businesses Jiebei and Huabei into it, which would make it
subject to rules and capital requirements similar to those for
banks.
    China Cinda Asset Management  1359.HK , one of company's new
investors and one of the country's four biggest state asset
managers, said it will invest 6 billion yuan as part of the
exercise.
    After the deal, China Cinda will become the second biggest
shareholder with a 24% stake in the consumer financing unit,
including a 20% stake it holds directly and a 4% stake held by
Nanyang Commercial Bank Ltd, a Cinda subsidiary. 
    Ant will retain a 50% stake in the unit, Cinda's filing to
Hong Kong Stock Exchange showed.
    The filing also disclosed the introduction of three other
strategic investors into Ant's consumer financing unit,
including Sunny Optics, Boguan Technology, a unit of NetEase Inc
 9999.HK , and Yufu Capital, a local investment arm of the
Chongqing government. 
    Last month, Ant said it was seeking to differentiate part of
its short-term consumer loan business Jiebei, as it pursues a
regulator-led restructuring.
($1 = 6.3640 Chinese yuan renminbi)

 (Reporting by Cheng Leng and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kirsten
Donovan and Barbara Lewis)
 ((cheng.leng@thomsonreuters.com; +8610-5669-2129;))