Fintech Unit's Global Push
Ant International Secures $1 Billion Fundraise for Global Expansion, Eyeing Future IPO
Anonymous
Key Points
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Ant International is Singapore-based and operates with its own board structure; the unit is described as playing a central role in Ant Group’s overseas strategy rather than a peripheral business line.
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Alipay+ is reported to link wallets and payment systems across more than 100 markets, connecting over 150 million merchants with more than 2 billion consumers—figures used to show the scale underpinning the payments push.
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Beyond payments rails like Alipay+, Ant International is expanding into blockchain-enabled capabilities: one report says the fundraising could support “blockchain-based settlement tools,” and another notes the company has expanded “Whale,” its blockchain platform for payments and treasuries (the excerpt is truncated but indicates the platform’s role).
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Bloomberg-cited figures add financial context: Ant International generated about $3.7 billion in revenue during 2025 (around 25% growth year-on-year), and it contributes roughly 10% of Ant Group’s total revenue while growing faster than the domestic business.
Ant International, the Singapore-based global payments arm of Ant Group, is seeking to raise about $1 billion in a private funding round that would value the company at $10 billion or more, Bloomberg reported on June 10, 2026. The capital would come largely from existing investors, including General Atlantic and Silver Lake, and could set the stage for a standalone listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as late 2026.
The fundraise marks a striking comeback. Ant Group's $34.5 billion IPO was pulled by Chinese regulators in November 2020, sending its valuation tumbling from roughly $280 billion. The creation of Ant International as a separately governed unit in 2024 was a key step in rebuilding, according to Caixin Global.
Eight Profitable Quarters Back a $10 Billion Price Tag
Ant International is not raising money to survive — it is raising money to grow faster. The unit has been profitable for eight straight quarters, Coincentral reported. Revenue rose from about $3 billion in 2024 to roughly $3.75 billion in 2025, a 25% jump year over year. That makes it one of the fastest-growing parts of Ant Group, even though it accounts for only about 10% of the parent's total revenue, according to Bloomberg.
Analysts see the round as a bridge, not a lifeline. Researchers at Intellectia.AI described it as "less like survival capital and more like pouring gasoline on a fire." A $10 billion valuation is a fraction of the old $280 billion peak, but it reflects how the market now prices Ant International: like a high-growth fintech company, not a Chinese state-adjacent mega-app.
Alipay+ Connects 2 Billion Users Across 220 Markets
The core of Ant International's business is Alipay+, a cross-border payments network that links over 50 digital wallets and banking apps. It connects more than 150 million merchants in over 220 markets with roughly 2 billion consumer accounts, according to official Alipay+ figures from April 2026. That scale is the main selling point for investors considering the new round.
Beyond payments, the unit runs WorldFirst, which offers overseas business accounts and money management tools for small businesses. Ant International says it now serves 1.6 million small and medium-sized businesses globally. PYMNTS noted that the fresh capital would likely support further expansion of these merchant and financial services outside mainland China.
Whale Blockchain Platform Processed $1 Trillion in 2024
A significant slice of the $1 billion raise is aimed at blockchain tools. Ant International runs a platform called Whale, which handles real-time treasury and payment settlement using tokenized bank deposits — a way to move money instantly without the delays of traditional bank wires. The platform processed over $1 trillion in transaction volume in 2024, with roughly one-third of that settled on blockchain rails.
Whale is also part of Hong Kong's Project Ensemble, a test program run by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to trial wholesale digital currency settlement. Ant is working alongside HSBC and Standard Chartered in that sandbox. Separately, Ant International has applied for stablecoin licenses in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Luxembourg following Hong Kong's Stablecoins Ordinance, which took effect in August 2025.
Hong Kong IPO Could Be the Biggest Fintech Listing of 2026
The funding round is widely seen as the last private step before a public listing. PYMNTS reported that the capital could pave the way for Ant International to go public in Hong Kong. Sources told MarketScreener there is no confirmed timetable, but if the round closes by the third quarter of 2026, a listing could follow by year-end — potentially the largest fintech IPO of the year.
The independent board structure and Singapore headquarters are deliberate choices, legal experts say. They help shield the international business from Chinese domestic regulation and geopolitical risk. Ant International President Douglas Feagin, a former Goldman Sachs executive, has been leading the global push and recently promoted the company's vision of "agentic commerce" — AI-driven tools that handle shopping and settlement automatically.
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