Jack Ma's Ant Backed Indonesian Digital Wallet Firm Raises $250M From Alibaba And Others: Report

Leading Indonesian digital wallet provider Dana raised $250 million from local conglomerate Pt Sinar Mas Multiartha Tbk PSMUF and Alibaba Group Holding Limited's BABA Lazada Group, Bloomberg reports.
Dana looks to expand in its home country and deepens its ties with Alibaba through the move.
Dana, partly owned by Jack Ma's Ant Group Co, will use the funds to invest in new tech and launch more financial services in one of the fastest-growing fintech markets, CEO Vince Iswara said. Alibaba owns a third of Ant.
The value of digital payments in the country has already exceeded both credit and debit card transactions in Indonesia, according to Bank Indonesia data.
Dana plans to offer lending, wealth management, and insurance.
Dana's funding coincides with Chinese fintech giant Ant's attempts to expand across Southeast Asia, where it has local partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
Ant set up a digital bank called ANEXT Bank in Singapore to beat the domestic regulatory hurdles.
Digital payments are a crucial way for internet companies to win customers in Southeast Asia, a region of 650 million population with limited penetration of credit cards.
Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 0.26% at $91.43 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.