After years of laying low, Ant Group is embarking on a global expansion as it nears the end of its turnaround campaign after reorganizing its business to please regulators. The Financial Times writes about this, reports FinTechInsider.
► Subscribe to the Telegram channel of the Ministry of Finance: main financial news
As noted by the American publication , in February the company made a surprise bid to buy Credit Suisse's Chinese securities division. The company also said it is working to quickly expand its cross-border payments business as it seeks opportunities for growth in a new era without Jack Ma.
One of the unanswered questions is how Ant will cope without Ma as the company's majority shareholder and final decision maker. While his departure has eased tensions with Beijing, he may leave the company without a clear strategic vision.
Eric Jing, who was reappointed as Ant's CEO in 2021 to oversee regulatory reform, took part in a global roadshow to promote the company. On March 19, he signed off on a structural change in the overseas payments business, allowing it to operate independently and providing employees with a stock incentive program.
A month earlier, he appeared in Beijing West at the People's Bank of China to talk about digital payment services for foreign visitors China, signaling how the company is trying to engage with the government as it hopes to revive tourism. Foreign travelers often face difficulties paying in China because merchants only accept Chinese digital payment apps.
In a document detailing its progress published in January, Ant said its payments network was now connecting more than 88 million merchants with 1.5 billion consumer accounts in more than 25 applications in 57 countries and regions, but it did not specify a growth target
Alipay, a ubiquitous payment application in China, which was the second largest source Ant's revenue in 2020 remains part of the group.
