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Jun 6, 2022
by Usha Yadav
Ant Group, Led by Jack Ma, Launches a Neobank in Singapore
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The Ant Group, which owns Alipay, China's largest digital payment platform, has opened a neobank in Singapore. According to a statement released today, it will be known as Anext Bank and will focus on small and medium businesses (SMEs). It has also partnered with trading platform Proxtera to provide financial solutions for SMEs interested in international trade.
Anext Bank CEO Toh Su Mei said, "Amid rapid acceleration in the digital economy, business models are changing and pivoting to become digital-first, if not adopting a hybrid model. Financial services have to evolve and be where SMEs are doing their businesses digitally,"
The bank will offer a dual-currency business account with features like remote onboarding and daily interest, presently in soft launch. From the third quarter of this year, it will be readily available.
Similar Move In Hong Kong
The revelation came after Ant Group made a similar move in Hong Kong. It launched consumer-focused fintech Ant Bank in 2020 after obtaining a virtual banking license from the regulatory authorities. Ant Group is headed by billionaire Jack Ma, with Alibaba owning nearly a third of the company. It had planned to raise $35 billion in what would have been the world's most extensive initial public offering (IPO) in 2020, but Chinese officials thwarted those plans.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, or other advice. Investing in or trading crypto assets comes with a risk of financial loss.
Usha is a diehard crypto enthusiast and has been actively writing on different facets of the blockchain and crypto world. She has authored many research articles on cryptocurrency and aims to provide informational and quality content to readers. She firmly believes that crypto has a great potential to redefine the world of finance and blockchain.