Ant Financial Services Group has been given the green light by Chinese regulators to start an equity crowdfunding firm, according to Caixin.
The company, a subsidiary of Jack Ma’s Alibaba, has been working to launch an equity crowdfunding service on Alibaba’s Taobao platform, the report said.
Crowfunding firms give small investors a chance to buy shares in startups.
The Chinese government has been encouraging the development of startups as part of an effort to re-energize an economy that’s facing its slowest growth in more than two decades this year.
No less than Chinese Premier Li Kequiang has expressed support for these new firms in emerging industries such as technology by asking local governments to grant tax breaks not just to startups but to incubators and angel investors as well.
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