(Yicai Global) Feb. 2 -- The Chinese unit of US financial technology giant PayPal Holdings received regulatory approval to almost double its registered capital.

The People’s Bank of China approved PayPal Payments Beijing’s application to increase its authorised capital to about CNY4.5 billion (USD673.5 million), according to a notice the central bank posted on its website on Jan. 31.

PayPal acquired 70 percent of Beijing-based Gopay Information Technology at the start of 2019 and the rest two years later. Last May, Gopay was officially renamed PayPal Payments, with PayPal lifting the unit’s capital to about CNY2.4 billion from CNY143 million (USD21.3 million).

PayPal Payments has secured a number of payment licenses, including those for online and mobile transactions. PayPal was the first foreign company to receive approval to provide online payment services in China.

The California-based firm announced on Jan. 31 that it plans to lay off 2,000 employees, or 7 percent of its workforce, to cut costs. But Amanda Miller, vice president of corporate affairs, noted that PayPal would proceed with strategic hirings this year.

Editor: Futura Costaglione