Ant Group rolls out global expansion strategy from new Singapore office

Ant Group, the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, announced a four-pronged global expansion strategy on Tuesday, as it doubles down on the overseas market via a new office in Singapore.

Ant International, the international business unit of Ant Group, which has its headquarters in the city-state, said it will boost “digital payment and digital commerce” through Alipay+, its cross-border mobile payment service for merchants, along with other services for sellers and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Alipay+, the linchpin of the fintech giant’s overseas expansion, now connects more than 88 million merchants to 1.5 billion user accounts on over 25 e-wallets and banking apps in 57 countries and regions, according to data released by Ant International at its Voyage Conference in Singapore on Tuesday.

The other three prongs of the company’s global expansion include a merchant payment service called Antom, a platform to help SMEs conduct cross-border trade known as WorldFirst, as well as ANEXT Bank, a Singapore-based digital wholesale bank.

The move underscores the fintech giant’s efforts to broaden its footprint in Asia and beyond, as the company is entering a growth phase after the dust has settled on Beijing’s two-year crackdown on the technology sector.

“Despite uncertainties in the global economy, trends like evolving financial infrastructure, accelerating digitalisation and swift advances on the tech frontier present unprecedented opportunities for merchants all across the world to achieve new growth, especially for small businesses that aspire to overcome the digital divide,” Yang Peng, president of Ant International, said at the conference.