Ant Financial has formed a strategic partnership with Kakao Pay which includes a $200 million investment and partnership to offer enhanced digital financial services in South Korea; services will include enhanced bill payment, remittance and payment transactions; according to Young-Joon Ryu, Kakao Pay's CEO-elect, "The combination of Ant Financial's global payment platform Alipay and numerous financial and commerce service networks and Kakao's platform capabilities will result in more effective and convenient financial solutions for both businesses and consumers." Source
Ant Financial is building a new platform for selling money market funds online; it is also introducing "Fortune Accounts" which will sell a broad range of investment products to Chinese consumers through its wealth management app; the first companies to partner for the Fortune Accounts are Bosera Funds, Aegon-Industrial Fund, Tianhong Fund, China Southern Fund and CCB Principal Fund with more companies to be added in June when the platform launches; Ant Financial says it plans to only develop technology to improve platforms for financial institutions, branding itself as a techfin company with no plans to develop its own financial services. Source
Alibaba financial services subsidiary Ant Financial says it is interested in expanding to Japan; the financial services firm has been expanding in the Eastern World with ventures in Thailand, Indonesia, Australia The Philippines and Korea; it already has plans to double the number of Japanese stores that accept Alipay to more than 45,000 this year; while further details on an expansion timeline have not been released, a spokesperson for the firm has said, "In Japan, there is a strong need of financial services from small and micro enterprises, and Ant is willing to share its standards and experience with local partners." Source
CB Insights outlines five tech giants' notable investments, partnerships and M&A moves in the Southeast Asia region; the five tech giants included in the article are Alibaba, Ant Financial, Tencent, Didi Chuxing and JD.com; the article highlights Ant Financial's investments in Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia, as well as its strategic partnerships throughout Southeast Asia. Source
In an address to the 19th CPC National Congress Xi called for bigger efforts to increase growth in internet based companies, big data and artificial intelligence; “We will make sure that our payment, wealth management and credit services can improve the welfare of the unbanked and underbanked population,” said Ant Financial CEO Eric Jing who was responding to another section of Xi’s speech which looks for the economy to better serve everyone. Source.
Alibaba's affiliate Ant Financial has reported an investment in payment provider Mynt which has its business focus in the Philippines; Mynt currently has three million registered customers and reports one billion pesos ($19.9 million) worth of transactions per week; it provides services for consumers, merchants, and organizations primarily through its GCash and Fuse Lending businesses; GCash serves as its micropayment service provider and Fuse Lending offers online personal and business loans. Source
Alibaba payment affiliate Ant Financial has announced the acquisition of helloPay; the company is based in Singapore and will help support Alipay's strategic growth initiatives in Southeast Asia; its primary payments focus is on serving e-commerce platforms; helloPay will be rebranded as Alipay following the acquisition. Source
In 2015 JD Finance recommended using the term "fintech" and in December of 2016 Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, coined "techfin"; the use of techfin showed Ant Financial's focus on building technology instead of products; the article explores whether the two concepts of fintech and techfin are actually different and the business models of JD Finance and Ant Financial. Source
As part of his new book to be released next year, Chris Skinner (thefinanser.com) visited Hangzhou, China to meet with executives from Ant Financial; he discusses just how far ahead China is compared to the US and Europe, especially when it comes to payments; shares what he learned about the mission of Ant Financial, including their products Alipay, Taobao (their online marketplace) and Yu’e Bao (the largest money market fund in the world). Source
The Wall Street Journal reports that Ant Financial is putting plans on hold to go public and will continue to invest in a wide variety of startups; Ant is one of the world’s most valuable fintech companies and last raised $4.5 billion in April 2016 giving it a $60 billion valuation; the firm is focused on expanding Alipay beyond the 70 countries it is used and deploying artificial intelligence technology. Source