China's Ant Financial Services Group, e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's internet finance affiliate, closed a private placement valuing the unit at about $45 billion, a person familiar with the matter said Thursday. Ant Financial sold stakes to external investors, including China Development Bank Capital Co and a holding company affiliated with David Yu, the co-founder of Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma's private equity firm Yunfeng Capital, the person said, adding that they did not know how much was raised. China's National Social Security Fund acquired about 5 percent, the person said. On its official Weibo microblog, Ant Financial confirmed the fund had invested, reflecting the faith in Ant Financial's future growth and profit.

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