Alibaba-affiliate Ant Group has teamed up with a leading state-owned enterprise (SOE) in Zhejiang province to apply for a license from the Chinese central bank to undertake personal credit score operations.
Ant Group and Zhejiang Tourism Investment Group (浙江省旅游投资集团) have jointly submitted an application to established Qiantang Credit Reporting Co. (钱塘征信有限公司) with registered capital of 1 billion yuan (approx. USD$157 million), according to an announcement made by the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) on 26 November.
Ant Group will hold 35% of equity in Qiantang, while Zhejiang Tourism Investment Group will also hold 35%.
Two senior executives from Ant Group will hold 10% via a limited partnership, with the remaining equity to be held by a third company situated in Zhejiang province.
According to previous reports the company will make use of Ant Group’s trove of big data to provide personal credit scores to Chinese consumers.
