Ant Financial may raise $1b for Southeast Asia, India fund

Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial is looking to raise US$1 billion for a fund that would back startups in Southeast Asia and India to strengthen its position in the growing mobile internet markets, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.

Photo credit: Ant Financial

Jack Ma’s fintech unicorn plans to invest in more companies from the said regions, focusing on those in the payments and online finance industries, the source added, confirming an earlier DealStreetAsia report. Ant Financial vice president Ji Gang said during a Beijing conference yesterday that the company was set to raise a fund, but did not specify its size.

Ant Financial is not a stranger to India and Southeast Asia. In 2015, it invested in India’s One97 Communications, the parent company of Paytm, taking a 25% stake in the fintech startup. It then backed the company again earlier this month, contributing US$400 million in Paytm’s US$1 billion raise.

A month ago, it was also reported that Ant Financial will be leading a US$600 million funding round for Gurgaon-based online food delivery and restaurant app Zomato, after investing in about 160 companies during the past five years.

Ant Financial has recently been on an expansion spree outside of China, where its has seen a slowdown in growth.

The Chinese payments giant also previously said that it may apply for a digital banking license in Singapore, making it one of the largest players in the digital banking race. The company secured a virtual banking license in Hong Kong a couple of months prior, joining online insurance firm Zhong An and other financial institutions Livi VB and SC Digital Solution.