China's Ant Financial targets brand boost in Southeast Asia with helloPay deal
helloPay to operate under Alipay brand independent of the existing app
Ant Financial, the payment affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, has acquired Singapore-based payment service helloPay Group, part of the Chinese firm’s drive to boost its Alipay brand and presence in Southeast Asia.
helloPay is the payment subsidiary of e-commerce firm Lazada Group, which is majority-owned by Alibaba after a US$1 billion deal in 2016, and will be rebranded as Alipay in relevant markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, Ant said in a statement on Wednesday.
The rebranded service will remain independent of Alipay’s existing app, which has 450 million users in China and is the country’s most popular mobile payment app. Ant did not disclose financial terms of the helloPay deal.
In recent months Ant Financial has invested in a string of payment firms in Asia, but helloPay represents the firm’s first foray into rebranding an acquisition under the Alipay name.
It comes as Ant is trying to boost brand recognition in several markets where helloPay operates.
Last week Ant announced a tie-up with Indonesia’s Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek) to roll out a mobile payments service. Earlier this year Ant confirmed it will make a strategic investment in Filipino payment firm Mynt.
