China's Ant Financial raises $14b in latest funding round

HANGZHOU - China's online payment giant Ant Financial announced Friday that it has raised around $14 billion in its latest round of financing to accelerate its global expansion and develop new technology.

The funds will be used to accelerate Alipay's globalization and develop technology to better deliver inclusive financial services to consumers and small enterprises globally, Ant Financial said in a statement.

The company said the funds will be used to cultivate high-tech talent in emerging markets to help communities take advantage of the opportunities arising from digital transformation.

Participants in the financing round include investors from both RMB and US dollar tranches. Apart from the existing shareholders of the company, new global institutional investors have participated in the US tranche.

"The company will continue to invest in developing its blockchain, AI, security, Internet of Things, and computing capabilities to upgrade its global technology platform," said Eric Jing, CEO of Ant Financial.

By the end of March, Ant Financial had served around 870 million users globally, according to the company.