Ant Group’s international arm is quietly emerging as a powerhouse in global fintech, generating nearly US$3 billion in revenue in 2024 and marking its second consecutive year of adjusted profit, according to sources close to the matter. While the company has yet to disclose its full earnings or comment publicly, the figures suggest that Ant International is well-positioned for a potential spinoff—a move that would align with broader structural shifts across China’s tech landscape.
Spinoff Momentum Mirrors China’s Tech Realignment
Since the abrupt halt of its $300+ billion IPO in 2020, Ant Group has restructured significantly, separating its consumer lending arm, accepting new state-affiliated stakeholders, and tightening regulatory compliance in China. But while the mainland business remains under intense scrutiny, Ant has quietly carved out a growth engine abroad.
In 2023, the company established an independent board for Ant International, signaling long-term plans for structural separation. Based in Singapore, the international unit is now insulated from some of the oversight affecting its parent company, allowing it to pursue global growth more freely.
That strategy is already yielding dividends. Cross-border transactions through Ant International surged threefold in 2024, with Alipay+ connecting over 90 million merchants across 66 markets to 1.6 billion user accounts. If a full spinout proceeds, Ant International could become one of the most valuable fintech entities globally—free to list outside of mainland China, possibly in markets like Hong Kong or Singapore.
Global Payments Ecosystem, Not Just Transfers
Ant’s global momentum isn’t built on simple remittances. It’s following a multi-pronged fintech playbook, offering bundled services across different user segments to create scale, stickiness, and recurring revenue. This includes:
- Alipay+: a growing consumer-to-merchant payment network across Asia and Europe
- WorldFirst: a B2B platform with $100 billion in annual payment volume
- Antom: merchant-facing infrastructure that nearly doubled in growth last year
These brands don’t just offer transactions—they provide ecosystem services that cater to a range of customer needs. By doing so, Ant International creates layered revenue streams and defensible network effects, echoing a playbook used by leading global fintechs like PayPal, Stripe, and Adyen.
Industry analysts say this approach aligns with broader trends across the $56 trillion global cross-border payments market expected by 2030. The winners in this space are no longer just processors—they’re platforms. And Ant International is building one of the most expansive.
The fact that Ant International is headquartered in Singapore is more than symbolic. Southeast Asia has become the launchpad for Chinese fintech firms navigating regulatory hurdles at home while tapping into high-growth, underbanked markets abroad.
Singapore’s mix of regulatory sophistication, global capital access, and proximity to ASEAN countries makes it the perfect staging ground. From this base, Ant is rapidly expanding into countries with booming digital payment adoption, including Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The strategy is working. Ant’s platforms now serve merchants across dozens of countries, giving it the reach and operational maturity needed for an eventual public offering or acquisition—moves that could further diversify revenue and reduce reliance on mainland China’s regulatory environment.
