Ant Financial buys stake in Vietnamese e-wallet eMonkey, sources say

Alibaba fintech arm Ant Financial has acquired a significant share in Vietnamese e-wallet eMonkey, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The size of the deal was not disclosed.

Photo credit: Ant Financial

According to one of the sources, Ant Financial will not control more than half of eMonkey, but will have significant influence and provide technical guidance for the company.

The move, which is Ant Financial’s eighth international payments deal, according to the report, will allow the Chinese company to gain access to the Vietnamese market.

Launched by local fintech firm M-Pay Trade, eMonkey provides a non-cash payment platform for its users. The report said it has partnerships with large banks and telecoms in the country.

According to one source, Ant Financial decided to invest in eMonkey, despite having an office in Vietnam, because the latter already has operating licenses from the State Bank of Vietnam.

The deal, which was negotiated during summer, is not being announced due to the anti-China sentiment in Vietnam, the sources added.

Vietnam was named one of the two leading pacesetters of Southeast Asia’s internet economy, alongside Indonesia, in the e-Conomy SEA 2019 report. The country’s internet economy is poised to reach US$43 billion by 2025 from US$12 billion in 2019, and it is emerging as the most digital of all economies in the region, according to the report.

Ant Financial is reportedly looking to raise a US$1 billion fund to back startups in Southeast Asia and India, with a focus on payments and online finance industries.