BRIEF: Ant Group eyes Hong Kong listing for overseas unit

Ant Group Co. Ltd., the fintech affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA.US; 9988.HK), is planning to list its Ant International overseas arm in Hong Kong, Caixin reported, citing unidentified sources. The company is currently in discussions with regulators regarding the potential listing, the report said.

Registered in Singapore, Ant International accounts for roughly 20% of Ant Group’s revenue. It operates four core business lines: the Alipay+ cross-border payment platform, the Antom global merchant acquiring network, the World First remittance service, and the Bettr digital payment solution. Those businesses cover a wide spectrum of fintech services, including consumer payments, merchant acquisition, and cross-border B2B settlements.

Ant International is chaired by Eric Jing, who is also Ant Group’s chairman and CEO.

Ant originally planned a dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong in 2020 that would have raised about $37 billion, but the IPO was abruptly halted by Chinese regulators at the 11th hour. The company was later forced to undergo a major restructuring and was fined nearly $1 billion.

By Lee Shih Ta

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