Ant Group expands Singapore presence and launches Ant International Foundation

• Ant Group plans to expand its presence and investment in Singapore as home to its various businesses, including Ant International
• Introducing Ant International Foundation, Ant International aims to power the future of global commerce through digital innovation and promote greater inclusion with a focus on long-term and sustainable value creation in the digital economy

Ant Group today unveiled its new Singapore office as home to its various international business and technology segments, including Ant International. With a newly created Ant International Foundation (AIF), Ant Group reaffirms the company’s commitment to Singapore as a global anchor of innovation and sustainable growth.

The office opening and AIF launch was officiated by Lew Chuen Hong, Chief Executive of Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), who shared about the strong partnership between Ant Group and IMDA in areas ranging from trust technologies to inclusion, and the importance of jointly building strong digital ecosystems. 

Ant International also had the privilege to host its guests from both the public and private sectors, including Patrick Tay, Member of Parliament for Pioneer SMC, and Assistant Secretary-General of National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), in witnessing this important milestone of its international journey at the new Singapore office. 

Ant International to enable future of commerce with innovative digital solutions

Ant International, the international business unit of Ant Group, is committed to powering the future of global commerce with digital innovation to enable consumers with seamless payment services, and help global merchants to do business easily everywhere through trusted and innovative digital solutions. 

Peng Yang, the newly appointed President of Ant International, said the launch of an expanded office and AIF in Singapore, a global hub of financial innovation and sustainable growth, marks a new chapter of growth and collaboration for the business.

In its current operation, Alipay+, a suite of global cross-border payments, marketing and digitalisation solutions, connects close to 30 payment partners, enabling tens of millions of merchants to engage over 1.4 billion user accounts with smoother digital payment and varied marketing assistance. A global acquiring and merchant service arm, backed by extensive institutional channels and a comprehensive license and compliance structure, covers over 200 countries and regions.

Under WorldFirst, Ant International offers over 400,000 SMEs in Asia and beyond a full-stack of cross-border payment, foreign exchange and funds management services in 40 main currencies through its B2C and B2B segments. ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank incorporated and licensed in Singapore, is dedicated to providing embedded and green digital financing services for regional SMEs.

Ant International also pledges to increase investment in Singapore on cutting-edge technologies to enhance trust and efficiency in digital commerce, including privacy-preserving computing and Web.3.0 innovations. The company is a participant in the IMDA Privacy-Enhancing Technology sandbox and has teamed up with Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in privacy computing research collaboration under the ambit of Strategic Centre for Research in Privacy-Preserving Technologies & Systems (SCRIPTS), which is an initiative jointly funded by the IMDA and National Research Foundation.  Committed to a sustainable friendly digital future, Ant Group is also collaborating with the IMDA to promote "Tech for Good" by encouraging more sustainable digital consumption built on carbon reduction techniques and framework. 

Ant International Foundation: Driving sustainable growth through open collaboration

The unveiling was marked with the launch of Ant International Foundation (AIF), a registered foundation to be set up in Singapore, focusing on emerging issues around environmental protection, promotion of more digital inclusion for the underserved communities and cultivation of digital leadership and talents to bring transformative changes to their communities.  

AIF is dedicated to amplifying positive impact by harnessing collective strengths through partnerships globally. AIF aims to work with worldwide partners, including:

• the 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion Project, a non-profit project launched by Ant Group and International Finance Corporation to promote tech inclusion and bridges digital literacy in underserved communities;
• Green Digital Finance Alliance, a Swiss based non-profit initiative jointly launched with the United Nations Environmental Programme in enabling transformative digital and financial innovation for climate, nature and biodiversity challenges; and
• Forum of Young Global Leaders, a global leadership programme led by the World Economic Forum.

Leiming Chen, Chief Sustainability Officer of Ant International, also announced AIF will lead new collaborative projects in Singapore including Girls Love Tech initiatives with SG Women In Tech to advance inclusivity and capacity-building in the fintech industry.