Alibaba financial affiliate Ant raises $4.5 bn

The financial services affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has raised $4.5 billion in funding, it said on Tuesday, calling it the largest single private placement by an Internet company. The move values Ant Financial Services Group at roughly $60 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, quoting people familiar with the situation. Investors included a unit of China's sovereign wealth fund and a subsidiary of China Construction Bank, one of the country's Big Four lenders, according to