As part of a cooperation, Ant Group, the fintech arm of China’s Alibaba Group (9988.HK), will become the largest shareholder in Singapore-based payments platform 2C2P, the businesses announced on Monday.
Ant’s Alipay+ payment service will be integrated with 2C2P’s platform, which is utilized by merchants in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and the Americas.
Ant has grown its position in Southeast Asia over the years by investing in and working with fintechs, and has just named a general manager for the area in order to accelerate growth outside of China.
“Through this complementary partnership with Ant Group, 2C2P will be connected to a much larger merchant base and will be well-positioned to advance our international expansion strategy,” said Aung Kyaw Moe, 2C2P’s founder and CEO.
Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group in China. Alipay, China’s largest digital payment network, is owned by the group and services over one billion users and 80 million merchants, with total payment volume (TPV) expected to surpass CN118 trillion in June 2020.
The Wall Street Journal claimed in March 2019 that Ant’s flagship Tianhong Yu’e Bao money-market fund was the world’s largest, with over 588 million users contributing cash, accounting for more than a third of China’s population.
Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, is a subsidiary of Alibaba Group in China. Alipay, China’s largest digital payment network, is owned by the group and services over one billion users and 80 million merchants, with total payment volume (TPV) expected to surpass CN118 trillion in June 2020.
The Wall Street Journal claimed in March 2019 that Ant’s flagship Tianhong Yu’e Bao money-market fund was the world’s largest, with over 588 million users contributing cash, accounting for more than a third of China’s population.
Ant Group was planned to raise US$34.5 billion in the world’s largest IPO at the time, valued at US$313 billion, in October 2020. China halted the IPO process on the eve of the public offering. Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party’s head, is said to have personally cancelled the Ant IPO.
The Wall Street Journal reported on April 12, 2021, that Ant Group would be turned into a financial holding company regulated by China’s state-controlled central bank due to political pressure.
