Ant group's profit grows by 39% in June quarter as investments gain

Ant Group's profit rose an estimated 39 per cent in the June quarter, attributed to a gain in investments as billionaire Jack Ma's fintech giant grapples with the impact of China's rapidly shifting rules for private enterprise.

The company contributed $1.4 bn to Alibaba Group Holding's earnings, a filing showed on Thursday (Nov 18). Based on Alibaba's one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 19.71 bn yuan in profit, up 39 per cent from a year earlier.

 Ant's earnings lag one quarter behind Alibaba's. Ant declined to comment.

"The year-over-year increase in share of profit of Ant Group was mainly due to an increase in net gains arising from fair value changes in the investments held by Ant Group," Alibaba said in its statement.

Alibaba's founder Jack Ma has been largely out of public view since criticising China's regulatory system last year.The company logged its first operating loss as a public company the same quarter it faced the penalty.