Ant Financial Buys Into Pakistani E-Wallet to Localize Alipay
Dou Shicong
(Yicai Global) March 14 — Ant Financial Services Group, the financial affiliate of Jack Ma’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., plans to spend almost USD185 million on a 45-percent stake in Pakistani e-wallet in order to create a localized version of its Alipay app, the biggest third-party payment platform in China.
The target company is Telenor Microfinance Bank Ltd., a subsidiary of Norwegian telecoms provider Telenor ASA, Chinese state-owned news agency Xinhua reported.
Telenor Microfinance created Easypaisa, Pakistan’s first government-recognized small financial bank and maiden mobile financial services platform. It owns 181 branches and 76,000 agency outlets, allowing more than 20 million local users to transfer money, pay bills and top up their phones. However, data from the World Bank shows around half of the country’s 200 million residents do not have access to basic financial services.
Ant Financial will bring a secure, transparent, low-cost experience to Easypaisa, its Chief Executive Jing Xiangdong said, adding that it will provide inclusive financial services to more Pakistani residents who have difficulty accessing them.
Ant Financial has been actively participating in countries along the Belt and Road route since Chinese President Xi Jinping introduced the initiative in 2013. The company has developed localized e-wallets for several countries involved in the scheme, including India, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Its latest move will be its first foray into Pakistan.
