Jack Ma's Ant Digital Bank Expands In Singapore By Sweetening Its Loan Offerings

  • 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.
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