Report : Alibaba's Finance Arm Seeks At Least $1.5 Bln

(RTTNews) - Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.'s (BABA) finance affiliate is seeking at least 10 billion yuan or $1.5 billion in a second round of fundraising ahead of a planned initial public offering, Bloomberg reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group Co., controlled by Alibaba's billionaire chairman Jack Ma, plans to issue stock to existing and new investors. The firm, known as Ant Financial, is speaking to potential investors including insurers and other financial institutions, as well as private equity funds and venture capital firms, the report said.

Ant Financial was valued at about $45 billion after completing an initial round of fundraising in June 2015. The company may sell shares in an IPO as early as this year, the report noted.