Chinese fintech giant Ant Group has appointed Jia Hang as its new regional general manager for Southeast Asia.
The newly created role is aimed at boosting the Chinese tech fintech’s base in the region as it targets individuals and local and regional businesses, especially small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the company said in a press release Wednesday.
Ant Group said Jia Hang has more than 20 years of experience in payments and financial technology, and has worked in the group’s international operations since 2015. Most recently, he has overseen the global operation of WorldFirst, which handles international business payments, and has led the payments services team for global and regional e-commerce marketplaces, the release said.
Targeting SMEs
He was formerly a UnionPay executive, the South China Morning Post reported.
Jia Hang said Ant Group needed to be where its customers are, citing the launch of Alipay+, which provides global cross-border mobile payments to merchants, especially SMEs.
«Leveraging Alipay+, and together with an ecosystem of established industry partners, we are committed to supporting global merchants, including regional ones to better serve over one billion SEA consumers by connecting them with their favorite e-wallets and other mobile payment methods,» Jia Hang said in the statement.
Supporting Tech Talent
«We also look forward to contributing in nurturing local tech talents with initiatives such as 10x1000 Tech for Inclusion,» a global fintech training platform, he said.
10x1000 is a philanthropic program launched by the International Finance Corp., a part of the World Bank Group, and Alipay in 2018.
Jia Hang will be based in Singapore, which is Ant Group’s regional headquarters, the release said.
Ant Group was valued at around $300 billion before its planned initial public offering (IPO) was cancelled.
The public reason Alibaba’s financial arm Ant Group saw its Hong Kong and Shanghai IPO plans squashed at the eleventh hour in 2020 was due to concerns over regulating the company as a financial firm, rather than a technology one – the suspension came just after China drafted new rules for microlending online.
