ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank incorporated in Singapore and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ant Group, announced its soft launch on June 6, 2022. Photo: Courtesy of Ant Group

China's fintech giant Ant Group launched a digital wholesale bank - ANEXT Bank - in Singapore on Monday, providing digital financial services to micro, small and medium enterprises in Singapore and the region, especially those engaging in cross-border business operations, according to the company.

Incorporated in Singapore, ANEXT Bank is one of the two successful applicants to receive the digital wholesale banking license issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, read a statement sent to the Global Times by the Ant Group on Monday.

"Amid rapid acceleration of 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," said Toh Su Mei, the Chief Executive Officer of ANEXT Bank, during the launch ceremony.

Ant Group has ramped up efforts to explore the Southeast Asian market recently. It announced the appointment of Jia Hang as its regional general manager for Southeast Asian market in March. It is reportedly the first time Ant has appointed such a position for the region.

On April 18, Ant Group announced a strategic partnership with global payment platform 2C2P, which is headquartered in Singapore. As one of the market frontrunners in the payment sector in Southeast Asia, 2C2P connects 250 payment methods in countries including Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia to provide payment settlement and other value-added services for merchants in e-commerce, financial services, airlines, travel, hotel and retail, according to media reports.

China has been an industrial leader in online payment innovations. As early as 2020, China Unionpay's mobile payment service had been adopted by 18 local wallets in Southeast Asia.  By last September, Unionpay International had connected more than 10 million overseas merchants to its mobile payment service, and launched more than 100 e-wallets supporting UnionPay cards in more than 20 countries and markets.

Global trade has now entered the digital era, with digital technology and trade becoming deeply integrated. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which came into effect at the beginning of the year, is expected to boost cross-border digital trade enormously within the mega free trade framework.


Global Times