HONG KONG: Chinese regulators have said electronic-commerce giant Alibaba's finance affiliate Ant Group can raise $1.5 billion for its consumer finance unit, in an important step forward after Beijing called off a planned initial public offering (IPO) two years ago and ordered the firm to restructure.

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in the southwestern city of Chongqing said in a notice dated Dec. 30, 2022 that Ant's consumer credit unit had secured approval to increase its capital to 18.5 billion yuan ($2.7 billion) from 8 billion yuan ($1.16 billion).