Jack Ma's Ant Digital Bank Expands In Singapore By Sweetening Its Loan Offerings - Alibaba Gr Holding (NYSE:BABA)

Alibaba Group Holding Limited's BABA fintech affiliate Ant Group Co's Singapore digital wholesale bank will start offering loans to small and medium-sized businesses.
ANEXT Bank, which started its services in June, said it would give smaller companies loans ranging from S$5,000 ($3,530) to S$100,000.
Customers can apply for ANEXT Bank's loans via IN Financial Technologies and Bizmann System.
Also Read: Jack Ma's Ant-Backed Indonesian Digital Wallet Firm Raises $250M From Alibaba And Others: Report
Ant accelerated digital bank operations in Southeast Asia, replicating strategies in China that catapulted its fintech operations to becoming the country's most extensive, Bloomberg reported.
The move could help Ant diversify its business and generate growth amid regulatory headwinds at home.
Jack Ma founded fintech significantly marks its foray into an arena dominated by traditional incumbents, including DBS Group Holdings Ltd DBSDF DBSDY and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp.
Compared with credit offered by traditional banks, Ant's ANEXTBank Loan baseline product doesn't require collateral.
For the credit of S$30,000 and below, ANEXT Bank waived off documental formalities. The interest rate will start from 6.8% per annum.
Ant was one of two groups to bag a wholesale digital banking license in December 2020, to serve smaller firms and other non-retail segments.
ANEXT Bank's dual-currency deposit service went live in August. Ant also started offering a service known as Alipay+ D-store.
Ant Group promised to help four Asian e-wallets expand into South Korea with its cross-border payment service Alipay+, as travel restrictions ease across Asia.
Price Action: BABA shares traded lower by 1.89% at $63.48 in the premarket on the last check Thursday.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs