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Ant Financial breaks records with USD 14 billion funding round

Friday 8 June 2018 11:16 CET | News

Reuters: Ant Financial has raised around USD 14 billion in what market watchers called the biggest-ever single fundraising globally by a private company.

The fundraising comes just ahead of a highly speculated and rumoured initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong and mainland China in early 2019. 

The exercise amounted to the largest confirmed single fundraising round in history, according to data provider Crunchbase.

In a statement, Ant said the funding included both U.S. dollar and Chinese yuan tranches. The dollar share made up over USD 10 billion, said people with knowledge of the matter.

Ant, in its statement, said it would use the funds to speed up globalization plans for its Alipay payment platform and to invest in developing financial technology.

Figures seen by Reuters showed that in five years, Ant expects 65% of revenue to come from business-oriented financial technology including assisting banks and other institutions as well as providing fraud prevention services.

The emphasis on business comes as Ant shifts focus away from consumer finance in China amid increased regulatory scrutiny of financial risk.


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Keywords: Ant Financial IPO, Ant Financial fundraiser, funding round payments, online payments
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