NSSF joins funding round for Alibaba’s Ant Financial
The National Council for Social Security Fund (NSSF) has participated in a funding round for Alibaba Group’s internet finance affiliate – Ant Financial Services – that is said to value the business at more than $40 billion.
Ant Financial confirmed the NSSF's involvement in a statement posted on its Weibo microblog.
According to Reuters, the pension fund will hold a 5% stake in the business. It identifies the other investors as China Development Bank Capital and a company affiliated with David Yu, who set up Yunfeng Capital with Alibaba founder Jack Ma. External investors now own 12.4% of the company, including shares Yu acquired earlier.
Ant Financial was built around Alibaba's Alipay payments system and is not part of the parent company's US-listed business. It is widely expected to pursue an IPO next year.
Ant Financial is forging ahead in financial services innovation with a view to disrupting the traditional bank-led system that has long underserved small businesses. The company is expected to launch an online bank, has an equity crowdfunding platform in development, and earlier this year launched a RMB1 billion ($160 million) fund to back internet and finance start-ups.
Ant Financial is also the largest shareholder in Zhong An Online Property Insurance, which is also backed by Tencent Holdings and Ping An Insurance. Zhong An recently raised RMB5.78 billion from a group comprising CDH Investments' wealth management platform, China International Capital Corp, SAIF Partners, Keywise Capital Management, and a Morgan Stanley-controlled vehicle.
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