Ant Financial Plans to Raise $1 Billion Fund for New Start-ups

Alibaba founder Jack Ma, owned Ant Financial, is making plans to attract around $1 billion in investment for a fund aimed at startups in Southeast Asia and India. According to a source, the company looking to invest in startups that are focused on markets in which mobile internet is growing rapidly.

Ant Financial is looking to fund startups in the regions which are involved in payments and other forms of online financial services.

Vice President of Ant Financial, Ji Gang, spoke at a conference in Beijing and stated that the company is planning to raise money for a fund but did not specify the fund amount.

Ant Financial is the biggest internet finance company in China, but the company is now looking to invest in other markets. One of the reasons behind the move is the fact that growth in China has slowed down and is also locked in a bruising battle with Tencent Holdings Ltd. Ant Financial was earlier known as Alipay and was developed to help Alibaba customers make online payments easily.