Ant Group Has Passed Hong Kong IPO Waiting Period; Overseas Business Poised for First Listing (AI Translation)
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This article was translated from Chinese using AI. The translation may contain inaccuracies. Click the button on the right to hide or reveal the original version.
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文｜财新 刘冉
By Liu Ran, Caixin
【金融我闻/刘冉】梦断IPO五年后，蚂蚁集团再次向资本市场发起冲击。
[Finance Insight/Liu Ran] Five years after its IPO dream was dashed, Ant Group is once again making a move towards the capital markets.
2024年3月，蚂蚁集团进行了新一轮组织架构调整，蚂蚁国际（全球化业务）、OceanBase（数据库业务）和蚂蚁数科（除OceanBase之外的科技业务）分别成立董事会，独立面向市场，实行董事会领导下的CEO负责制。
In March 2024, Ant Group undertook a new round of organizational restructuring. Ant International (global business), OceanBase (database operations), and Ant Digital Technologies (all technology businesses excluding OceanBase) each established their own boards of directors, operating independently in the market and implementing a CEO responsibility system under the leadership of their respective boards.
井贤栋作为蚂蚁集团董事长，兼任了蚂蚁国际（Ant International）的董事长，蚂蚁数科董事长由蚂蚁集团CEO韩歆毅担任，OceanBase董事长由蚂蚁集团资深副总裁、蚂蚁集团技术战略委员会主席倪行军担任。
Jing Xiandong, who serves as chairman of Ant Group, also holds the position of chairman at Ant International. The chairmanship of Ant Digital Technologies has been assumed by Han Xinyi, CEO of Ant Group. OceanBase’s chairman is Ni Xingjun, Ant Group’s senior vice president and chairman of the company’s Technology Strategy Committee.
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Caixin is acclaimed for its high-quality, investigative journalism. This section offers you a glimpse into Caixin’s flagship Chinese-language magazine, Caixin Weekly, via AI translation. The English translation may contain inaccuracies.
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Ant Group Has Passed Hong Kong IPO Waiting Period; Overseas Business Poised for First Listing (AI Translation)
Explore the story in 30 seconds
- Ant Group has restructured and is considering a separate Hong Kong listing for Ant International, whose overseas revenue now contributes about 20% of group total, up from 5% in 2020.
- Ant International, headquartered in Singapore, offers global payment (Alipay+, Antom, WorldFirst) and SME lending services, competing with Visa, Mastercard, PayPal, Stripe, and Adyen.
- Ant Group’s valuation has dropped by over half since its halted 2020 IPO; Ant International is now valued at roughly 200 billion yuan ($28 billion).
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Who’s Who
- Ant Group
- Ant Group, a leading Chinese fintech company, underwent a major restructuring after its 2020 IPO was halted. Its business is divided into digital finance, digital connectivity, technology, and globalization. The overseas arm, Ant International (headquartered in Singapore), is preparing for a Hong Kong IPO. Ant Group’s valuation has shrunk, with estimated 2024 profits rebounding but far below 2020 levels. Major products include Alipay+, Antom, and WorldFirst, focusing on cross-border digital payments and SME financial services.
- Ant International
- Ant International, headquartered in Singapore, is Ant Group's global business arm focusing on digital payment and financial services. Its core products are Alipay+ (C2C payments), Antom (B2B acquiring), and WorldFirst (B2B cross-border services). Operating in over 200 countries, it partners with local e-wallets, financial institutions, and supports merchants worldwide. Ant International is considering a separate IPO in Hong Kong and in 2024, its revenue comprises about 20% of Ant Group’s total.
- OceanBase
- OceanBase is Ant Group’s distributed database business, now with its own independent board operating under a CEO-led structure. It was spun out as a distinct tech segment in Ant’s March 2024 organizational restructuring, with Ni Xingjun, Ant Group’s Senior VP and Chairman of the Technology Strategy Committee, serving as OceanBase’s Chairman. OceanBase aims to compete in the database technology sector and generate revenue from technology services.
- Ant Digital Technologies
- Ant Digital Technologies, also known as "蚂蚁数科," is a technology business segment of Ant Group, aside from OceanBase. It focuses on technology-based solutions excluding database services. The unit provides products in areas such as blockchain, privacy computing, security technology, and distributed systems, with offerings like AntChain, AntShield, and SOFAStack. It operates independently under a board-led CEO accountability system, with Han Xingyi serving as chairman.
- Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group Limited
- Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group Limited (耀才证券, 01428.HK) is a Hong Kong-based local brokerage firm ranked 30th by client asset scale, with HKD 60 billion in client assets as of September 30, 2024. Its total assets are HKD 8.122 billion, and net assets are HKD 1.196 billion. In April 2025, Ant Group initiated a HKD 2.814 billion offer to acquire the 50.55% stake held by its chairman, Yip Mau-Lun.
- Ant Fortune
- According to the article, Ant Fortune is a subsidiary of Ant Group and was involved in the acquisition of a 50.55% stake in Hong Kong-based securities firm Bright Smart Securities. The acquisition sparked market speculation about a potential backdoor listing, but Ant Fortune itself focuses on wealth management and operates as part of Ant Group's broader digital finance and wealth management business segment.
- Alipay
- Alipay is Ant Group’s flagship digital payment platform, integral to its digital finance business. It serves as a core product for both domestic and international markets, enabling seamless payments via its app and Alipay+ solution. Internationally, Alipay+ connects 36 local e-wallets and national QR code systems in 66 countries/regions, serving 1.7 billion accounts and 90 million merchants, facilitating cross-border payments and supporting global digital commerce.
- Alipay+
- Alipay+ is Ant International’s flagship cross-border payment solution, connecting local e-wallets and banking apps across 66 countries and regions, covering 90 million merchants. It enables users to make payments abroad using their familiar local wallets. Alipay+ collaborates with 36 local wallets and several national QR code systems, making it one of the world’s largest cross-border digital payment platforms and a key part of Ant’s international expansion.
- Antom
- Antom is Ant International’s cross-border B2B acquiring platform, competing with Stripe and Adyen. It offers merchants API integration, high authorization rates, and customized solutions, supporting over 250 payment methods and 100 transaction currencies, connecting to 1.5 billion consumers. Launched to capture Chinese companies’ cross-border payment needs, Antom saw rapid growth, with direct acquiring transaction volume nearly doubling and bank card processing increasing more than 10 times year-on-year in 2024.
- WorldFirst
- WorldFirst, founded in London in 2004 and acquired by Ant Group for approximately $700 million in 2019, is a key part of Ant’s global cross-border payment strategy. It offers multi-currency accounts for SMEs, holding over 60 payment licenses and connecting to 210+ markets. In 2024, its transaction volume reached $100 billion with a four-year compound growth rate of about 80%, expanding from Europe into Asia and the Middle East.
- AliExpress
- According to the article, AliExpress is part of Alibaba's ecosystem and has benefited from Ant International's cross-border acquiring services. Initially, only Alipay+ enabled cross-border acquiring for Alibaba's platforms like AliExpress and Lazada. Ant International later introduced Antom to further tap into the demand for cross-border payment solutions for Chinese businesses expanding overseas.
- Lazada
- According to the article, Lazada is part of the Alibaba ecosystem and uses Alipay+ for cross-border acquiring and payment services. This enables Lazada to support cross-border payments, particularly benefiting from Ant International’s digital payment solutions, which help connect merchants and consumers in the global digital economy.
- 2C2P
- 2C2P is a Singapore-based payment platform that was acquired by Antom (part of Ant International, under Ant Group) in 2022. Antom, aiming to expand its cross-border merchant acquiring services, integrated 2C2P to enhance its capabilities in B2B payment processing and support over 250 payment methods. The acquisition helps Ant Group strengthen its presence in the Asia-Pacific’s digital payment sector.
- ANEXT Bank
- ANEXT Bank is a digital bank based in Singapore, approved by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Launched in June 2022, it focuses on providing inclusive financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore and the broader Southeast Asia region. ANEXT Bank is operated by Ant International, a subsidiary of Ant Group, and leverages embedded finance to serve SMEs within local and cross-border payment ecosystems.
- Bettr
- Bettr is a digital micro-lending platform launched by Ant International in June 2024. It provides loans mainly to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in markets such as Brazil, Hong Kong, and Thailand. Bettr offers various embedded finance products, including term loans, revolving loans, business BNPL, supply chain financing, invoice financing, and purchase order financing, often through partnerships with local businesses.
- Visa
- According to the article, Visa is one of the global card payment network "duopolies," alongside Mastercard, with billions of cardholders and over a hundred million merchant acceptance points worldwide. Visa is a major competitor to Ant International in the global payments market, especially in the traditional card payment segment.
- Mastercard
- According to the article, Mastercard is one of the traditional card networks (alongside Visa) and acts as a global duopoly in card payment networks. It has billions of cardholders and millions of merchant acceptance points worldwide, making it a key competitor to Ant International (Ant Group) in the global payment sector.
- PayPal
- According to the article, PayPal is a long-standing leader in global cross-border online payments, with approximately 430 million active users. Many e-commerce transactions rely on PayPal, and in 2024, its total payment volume (TPV) reached about $1.6 trillion, making it a major competitor to Ant International in the global digital payment sector.
- Stripe
- According to the article, Stripe is mentioned as a benchmark competitor for Ant International's Antom platform in the cross-border B2B acquiring and payment processing sector. Stripe provides API-based payment solutions for businesses to handle global transactions, similar to Antom’s offerings. Ant International launched Antom to compete in this space and has rapidly increased its transaction volumes, aiming to capture more of the cross-border business payments market.
- Adyen
- Adyen is a global payment company headquartered in the Netherlands. It provides merchants with end-to-end payment capabilities, including in-store, online, and mobile payments. In the article, Adyen is mentioned as a competitor to Ant International’s Antom platform in the cross-border B2B acquiring segment, alongside Stripe. Adyen is recognized for its robust payment solutions and broad international reach, serving many major global businesses.
- PayNet
- According to the article, PayNet is Malaysia’s national standard QR code system. It collaborates with Alipay+ as part of Ant International’s strategy to connect global local payment ecosystems, enabling Malaysian users to make payments at international merchants using their local electronic wallets through the Alipay+ network.
- ZeroPay
- ZeroPay is mentioned in the article as Korea’s national standard QR code payment system and one of the local payment networks that partners with Ant International’s Alipay+ service. This cooperation enables Korean merchants and consumers to connect with Alipay+’s global digital payment ecosystem, allowing cross-border payments and facilitating convenience for travelers and local users in Korea.
- Paytm
- According to the article, Paytm is an Indian digital wallet and payment platform in which Ant Group (via Ant International) holds an equity stake ranging from 10% to 30%. Paytm is one of several local e-wallets worldwide that are connected through Alipay+, strengthening Ant Group’s financial technology presence and global payment network.
- GCash
- GCash is a local electronic wallet in the Philippines, mentioned in the article as one of the digital payment tools cooperating with Ant Group's Alipay+. It enables Filipino users to make payments, including in China, by leveraging the Alipay+ cross-border network, allowing for seamless transactions without needing to download a new app. Ant Group holds a stake of 10% to 30% in GCash, strengthening its global fintech presence.
- Easypaisa
- Easypaisa is a local electronic wallet and payment platform in Pakistan. It is one of the global partners of Ant International’s Alipay+ network. Through this collaboration, Easypaisa enables users in Pakistan to access cross-border digital payment solutions, allowing them to make payments internationally and enhancing Ant International’s coverage in the South Asian market. Ant holds a 10% to 30% stake in Easypaisa, strengthening its global fintech presence.
- TrueMoney
- TrueMoney is a local e-wallet in Thailand. It is part of Ant Group’s global payment network, Alipay+, and is one of the key local e-wallet partners connected by Ant International. TrueMoney allows users in Thailand to make digital payments, including cross-border transactions, and can be used by Thai travelers in China via Alipay+’s "overseas wallet in China" feature, enabling seamless payment without downloading a new app.
- DANA
- According to the article, DANA is an electronic wallet in Indonesia in which Ant Group (蚂蚁集团) holds a 10% to 30% stake. DANA is one of several local e-wallets globally that collaborates with Ant Group’s Alipay+ network, enabling cross-border digital payment solutions and strengthening Ant Group’s fintech presence in Southeast Asia.
- Touch 'n Go eWallet
- Touch 'n Go eWallet is a Malaysian digital wallet that is one of Ant International’s key partners. Ant holds a 10-30% stake in several global wallets, including Touch 'n Go eWallet. Through Alipay+, this e-wallet allows Malaysian users to make payments overseas and inbound travelers to use their own wallets in China, underscoring Ant’s global payment connectivity and local partnership strategy.
- ZaloPay
- According to the article, ZaloPay is a local electronic wallet in Vietnam in which Ant Group holds an investment stake (typically between 10% to 30%). ZaloPay is part of the Alipay+ global network, allowing users to make cross-border payments and facilitating connectivity for global digital payment services, especially for travelers and e-commerce transactions.
- PayFast
- According to the article, PayFast is a local electronic wallet in South Africa that has partnered with Ant International’s Alipay+ network. Through this partnership, users of PayFast can make payments via Alipay+, strengthening Ant International's presence in the global digital payment ecosystem, particularly within Africa.
- KakaoPay
- KakaoPay is one of the local electronic wallets partnered with Ant International’s Alipay+ network. Based in South Korea, KakaoPay allows its users to make payments both domestically and, via Alipay+, internationally, including in China without needing to download additional apps. Ant International holds a minority stake (between 10%-30%) in various e-wallets like KakaoPay as part of its global fintech strategy.
- AlipayHK
- AlipayHK is a local electronic wallet in Hong Kong and one of the overseas digital payment tools integrated into Ant Group’s Alipay+ global network. It enables Hong Kong users to make digital payments domestically and abroad. Through Alipay+, AlipayHK users can use their usual wallet for consumption in mainland China and other supported regions, without needing to download new apps. AlipayHK is part of Ant Group’s global fintech strategy.
- MPay
- MPay is mentioned in the article as one of the overseas digital payment tools supported by Alipay+ for inbound payments to China. Users from Macao can use MPay, their local digital wallet, to make payments in China without needing to download or register for Alipay/Alipay App, facilitating convenient cross-border transactions through the Alipay+ network.
- ChangiPay
- ChangiPay is a digital wallet from Singapore mentioned in the article as one of the overseas e-wallets integrated with Alipay+ services. Through this integration, ChangiPay users can directly use their wallet in China for payments, without needing to download or register for Alipay. This facilitates seamless cross-border mobile payments for Singaporean users traveling in China.
- OCBC Bank
- The article mentions OCBC Bank (Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation) as one of the local Singaporean banks whose digital payment tool is supported by Alipay+ for foreign visitors to China. With OCBC’s support, Singaporean travelers can use their familiar local banking app for payments when visiting China, without needing to download a new app. No further details about OCBC are provided in the article.
- Naver Pay
- According to the article, Naver Pay is listed as one of the foreign e-wallets that, through Alipay+ cross-border service, allows users from certain countries to make payments in China without downloading a new app. Specifically, South Korean users can use Naver Pay directly in China thanks to Alipay+’s “overseas wallet in China” functionality, facilitating seamless local payments for foreign visitors.
- Toss Pay
- According to the article, Toss Pay is one of the overseas digital wallets integrated with Alipay+'s cross-border services. It enables users from Korea to make payments in China using their familiar mobile wallet, without downloading new apps. Toss Pay is part of a group of international wallets supporting convenient payments for foreign visitors in China via the Alipay+ network.
- HiPay
- HiPay is one of the foreign digital wallets connected to Alipay+ cross-border services. It enables users from Mongolia to pay in China using their familiar local e-wallet, without needing to download or register Alipay. This integration is part of Ant International’s strategy to make cross-border payments easier for overseas visitors in China through cooperation with various local e-wallets and payment providers.
- NayaPay
- NayaPay is a digital wallet from Pakistan mentioned in the article as one of the overseas payment tools integrated into Alipay+'s cross-border services. This allows users from Pakistan to use NayaPay for payments within China, without needing to download a new app, enabling seamless cross-border transactions for visitors.
- Kaspi.kz
- Kaspi.kz is one of the overseas digital payment tools connected to Alipay+ that enables users from Kazakhstan to make payments in China using their familiar local e-wallet. It is part of the 13 foreign digital payment platforms from 10 countries or regions that allow seamless consumer experiences for their users when visiting China, without downloading a new app.
- Asset World Corporation
- Asset World Corporation (AWC) is mentioned in the article as a leading commercial real estate company in Thailand. Ant International (a unit of Ant Group) partnered with AWC to provide digital lending services to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under its new Bettr loan platform, helping Thai SMEs access embedded financial solutions via AWC’s business ecosystem. No further financial or corporate details are provided in the article.
- Capital One
- According to the article, Capital One is mentioned as a previous employer of Yu Quan, who is now the Global Credit Technology Services General Manager at Ant International. Yu Quan was formerly the risk manager at MYbank and also served as a Senior Director at Capital One, where he gained extensive credit risk management experience.
- Dell Technologies
- According to the article, Yang Peng, CEO of Ant International, previously worked at Dell Technologies. He held the position of Global Vice President, managing product development, strategy, and market expansion for Greater China, Asia-Pacific, and emerging markets before joining Alipay and later Ant International. No other details about Dell Technologies are provided in the content.
- Goldman Sachs
- According to the article, Douglas Feagin, the President of Ant International leading Ant Group's global strategy, previously worked at Goldman Sachs for 22 years before joining Ant in 2016.
- Alibaba
- According to the article, Alibaba holds about 33% of Ant Group’s shares. Alibaba is also noted as the only true AI large language model stock in the market, which justifies its relatively high valuation. In 2024, Alibaba's projected revenue is 1 trillion yuan with a net profit of 130 billion yuan, and its current Hong Kong market capitalization is 2 trillion yuan.
- Tencent
- According to the article, in 2024 Tencent had revenue of 660 billion RMB and net profit of 194 billion RMB, with a market value of 4 trillion RMB. Its dynamic price-to-sales (PS) ratio is 6.2, and its dynamic price-to-earnings (PE) ratio is 21. Tencent’s business model, involving gaming and social media advertising, is considered to have greater growth potential compared to Ant Group’s financial-focused business.
- Ernst & Young
- According to the article, Zhou Yi is the CFO of Ant International and is also responsible for global payments and embedded finance businesses. Before joining Ant Group, Zhou Yi was a partner at Ernst & Young (EY). No further details about Ernst & Young are provided in the article.
- IBM
- According to the article, Li Xiaoqiong is the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHO) at Ant International, responsible for talent strategy and organizational transformation. Previously, she held senior human resources positions at Alibaba and IBM. No additional details about IBM are provided in the article.
AI generated, for reference only
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