ANT Group’s profit nearly grew 193 per cent in the June quarter, reversing a year-long decline as the fintech company regained its footing from a government crackdown.
Hangzhou-based Ant contributed nearly 2.48 billion yuan (S$460 million) of profit to Alibaba Group Holding. Based on Alibaba’s one-third stake in Ant, that translates to an estimated 7.5 billion yuan in profit for the three months ended in June, according to Bloomberg calculations based on the listed company’s disclosures.
The results compared with a 10 per cent drop in earnings for the previous three months. Its results lag a quarter behind Alibaba’s. Ant declined to comment in an emailed statement.
Ant made broad overhauls to its business in March, setting up independent boards for international, database and digital technology units to pave the way for future spinoffs. The company has been expanding its overseas operations to offset slowing growth at home.
The moves came after billionaire Jack Ma gave up control of Ant last year. China wrapped up its crackdown on the once high-flying Internet sector by slapping more than US$1 billion in fines on Ant and Tencent Holdings. in July last year.
To expand abroad, Ant raised US$6.5 billion in loans to refinance an offshore credit line of the same size, people familiar with the matter said in September.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Ant’s international business has been building its treasury management platform known as Whale, underpinned by blockchain technology. Separately it worked with Singapore’s DBS Group Holdings. to start a treasury token pilot project to improve the efficiency of fund movements between bank accounts.
The company also made some inroads on artificial intelligence. It rolled out a package of services including a “life assistant” app called Zhixiaobao, which helps people order meals, hail taxis and access other functions within its mobile payments app Alipay.
Domestically, Ant is considering selling its stake in Baihang Credit, a personal credit reporting firm, as it awaits a licence approval for a similar entity known as Qiantang, Bloomberg reported in June.
Ant proposed buying back as much as 7.6 per cent of its shares last year, giving investors such as Fidelity Investments and T Rowe Price Group an opportunity to sell some stock. Under the repurchase plan, the company’s valuation was trimmed to about US$79 billion – well off its peak of US$280 billion before regulators scrapped an initial public offering four years ago. The fintech company is awaiting a financial holding company licence, which would help revive the IPO.
Initially catering to Chinese tourists travelling outside the country, the company has expanded its services into a backbone for cross-border payments known as Alipay+ that can be used by different wallets. The network connects 90 million merchants in 66 markets, according to its website.
Affiliate Alibaba’s revenue reached 236.5 billion yuan in the three months ended in September. BLOOMBERG
