Alibaba Affiliate Wins China Approval to Jointly Set Up Bank
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Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s finance affiliate won a bank license in China as the e-commerce group that completed a record initial public offering in New York this month expands its financial-services operations.
The China Banking Regulatory Commission approved a bank in Hangzhou of Zhejiang province with four founders, according to a statement posted on the regulator’s website today. Alibaba’s Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co. affiliate will own 30 percent of the lender, and a Fosun Group subsidiary will hold 25 percent, according to the statement.