Alibaba's fintech branch considers Hong Kong IPO for Ant International

According to people familiar with the matter cited by Caixin, Ant was in touch with regulators about a potential listing, however, the report did not mention where the discussions were taking place, in China or elsewhere. Ant International is registered in Singapore, as detailed by Reuters, and manages the global operations of the company.

This move follows another IPO attempt from 2020, when Chinese regulators halted Ant’s plans for an initial public offering for Ant Group and began an antitrust crackdown on domestic companies, including Alibaba. The regulatory initiative came after the founder of Ant, Jack Ma, critiqued financial regulators for suppressing innovation in the sector. The actions led Ant to overhaul its business and pay a USD 1 billion fine. Now, Ant is seeking to secure a financial holding company licence. Obtaining the licence could facilitate the start of its IPO.

Ant International’s expansion

Lately, Ant International has been on a growth path, focusing its efforts on rolling out additional solutions and scaling its footprint. For example, most recently, the company’s WorldFirst introduced World Card, a Mastercard-enabled virtual card solution centred on assisting SMEs in simplifying global transactions. WorldFirst joined forces with Mastercard to augment the World Card with capabilities aimed at optimising global operational efficiency for customers. The solution was set to deliver global coverage, security, multi-card management, and cashback rewards.

Furthermore, Alibaba Group launched Tao in December 2024, a cross-border ecommerce platform developed for Japanese consumers. The move marked its latest initiative to expand internationally. The platform provided 3 million products across various categories and included localised services such as customer support, payment options, and tailored product recommendations.