E-commerce giant Alibaba (BABA) and other Chinese stocks rallied at the open on Wednesday amid easing regulatory concerns.
Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba, received approval from regulators to raise $1.5 billion for its consumer finance unit. The move would make it easier for the fintech giant, of which Alibaba owns 33%, to restart any efforts towards a public offering. Plans for an Ant Group IPO were squashed by regulators in 2020.
The fintech company operates one of China’s prominent mobile pay apps, Alipay. The move to expand its consumer finance unit is seen as a sign of easing regulations as Chinese authorities prioritize economic growth following strict COVID lockdowns and a slowing world economy.
Alibaba soared more than 5% at the open on Wednesday. Competitor JD.com (JD) jumped 6% and e-commerce giant Pinduoduo (PDD) also rose 6% during the morning session. Electric vehicle maker NIO (NIO) rose 6%.
Optimism over liquidity support for struggling real estate developers is also buoying Chinese ADRs (American depositary receipts).
Banking and security regulators could implement measures to help shore up balance sheets of some too-big-to-fail developers amid a continued property downturn, according to a Bloomberg report.
Chinese stocks have rallied recently over optimism of China’s full re-opening after months of strict COVID lockdowns.
BABA and JD are both up around 39% over the last two months. Pinduoduo has risen 44% during the same period.
Ines is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
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