Ant International considers raising US$1 billion to boost growth

Published Wed, Jun 10, 2026 · 05:19 PM

[BEIJING] Ant Group’s international business is considering raising about US$1 billion to accelerate growth, sources said.

The global unit of the Jack Ma-backed fintech company has been sounding out interest from prospective investors, which includes existing shareholders General Atlantic and Silver Lake, the sources added, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.

A funding round might value Ant International at US$10 billion or more.

The sources also said that a fundraising could help pave the way for Ant to start preparing for a potential listing of the business in Hong Kong as soon as this year.

That will revive a process that stems back to the start of this decade, when the main Ant Group was preparing for what would have been the world’s biggest initial public offering (IPO).

However, Chinese regulators put the brakes on that plan, prompting a restructuring that created an independent board for Ant International in 2024.

Deliberations about the funding round are ongoing, and no final decision has been made, the sources said. 

Representatives for Ant, General Atlantic and Silver Lake declined to comment.

Ant International’s revenue totalled US$3 billion in 2024, and then grew about 25 per cent in 2025, sources have said.

The company supports more than 300 payment methods in over 220 markets, it said in April.

Initially catering to Chinese tourists travelling abroad, the payments service was later expanded into a cross-border network known as Alipay+, which can be used by different wallets.

Investments in new technologies

The company has four business drivers – Alipay+, Antom, Bettr and WorldFirst.

Antom can help merchants integrate more than 300 payment methods, and it accepts payments in more than 100 currencies.

WorldFirst enables cross-border trade payment. Meanwhile, Bettr has an artificial intelligence-powered digital-lending service and helps clients with treasury and foreign-exchange management.

Ant Group has been investing in new technologies to tap fresh revenue streams, including large language models, humanoid robots and a healthcare app with 140 million users. 

In March, Ant won support from Chinese regulators to acquire Hong Kong-based Bright Smart Securities & Commodities Group, as the company looks to expand its online brokerage services outside of mainland China. 

Research and development spending and regulatory hurdles have impacted the broader business, leaving Ant Group valued at roughly US$79 billion in 2023.

This was a steep drop from the US$280 billion valuation it held during its halted 2020 IPO attempt. BLOOMBERG