Jack Ma’s Ant Group Posts 21% Profit Rise on Investment Gains

Billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. likely saw profits rise an estimated 21% in the three months to September, despite a regulatory overhaul as part of Beijing’s efforts to rein in the nation’s fast growing tech giants.

The fintech firm contributed 5.81 billion yuan ($912 million) to Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s earnings, a filing showed Thursday. Based on Alibaba’s one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 17.6 billion yuan in profit for Ant’s September quarter, or 21% increase from a year earlier. Ant’s earnings lag a quarter behind Alibaba’s. Ant declined to comment.

The higher profit was ...