China’s Ant Financial Services Group acquired a significant stake in Vietnamese e-wallet eMonkey, a move that could give the Chinese fintech company wider access to Vietnam’s digital payment market, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Alibaba-affiliated Ant Financial will not take a majority stake in eMonkey but is still expected to have a greater say and provide technical expertise to the e-wallet, one of the sources told Reuters, without disclosing the deal’s size.

The transaction, negotiated over the summer, is not being announced publicly out of concern that it could set off a boycott by anti-China Vietnamese. The nations have been at odds over maritime territorial rights in the South China Sea.

With its own digital payment tool, Alipay, enjoying great popularity in China’s domestic market, Ant Financial has been expanding its global influence with a focus on emerging markets in Southeast Asia

Last month, Ant Financial was reportedly planning to set up a $1 billion fund to be used for investing in startups from Southeast Asia to India.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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