(Yicai Global) Nov. 15 -- The consumer finance unit of Chinese financial technology giant Ant Group has raised CNY10.5 billion (USD1.5 billion) to boost its registered capital in a scaled-back private placement of shares.

Chongqing Ant Consumer Finance’s registered capital will increase to CNY18.5 billion from CNY8 billion, minority shareholder Yuyue Medical Equipment and Supply announced yesterday, saying it will contribute CNY524 million (USD74.4 million).

Ant will add CNY5.3 billion, Hangzhou Jintou Digital Technology Group CNY1.9 billion, Sunny Optical Technology CNY1.1 billion, Transfar Zhilian CNY927 million, Guangzhou Boguan Telecommunication Technology CNY619 million, and Chongqing Nongxin Investment CNY220 million.

Ant Consumer Finance had proposed last December to raise CNY22 billion from six subscribers. Ant would have invested CNY11 billion, China Cinda Asset Management CNY6 billion, Yuyue Medical CNY1.1 billion, Sunny Optical CNY1.8 billion, Boguan Telecom CNY1.3 billion, and Yufu Capital CNY780 million. Cinda withdrew in January.

Apart from Ant Group, the five companies involved in the consumer finance unit’s latest fundraiser are new investors to the company. Ant Consumer Finance will have 12 shareholders after this private placement, with Ant holding a 50 percent stake and Jintou Digital 10 percent, making it the unit’s second-largest shareholder.

Jintou Digital’s actual controller is the Hangzhou city government, Nongxin Investment’s is Chongqing Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, while Boguan Telecom is a video games developer under tech giant NetEase.

Ant Consumer Finance is a licensed financial institution founded in June last year with the approval of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, which oversees Ant’s consumer finance business. It made a CNY1.1 billion net profit in the first three quarters of this year on revenue of CNY3.2 billion.

Editor: Futura Costaglione