Jack Ma’s Ant International planning Hong Kong and Singapore stablecoins, pending licenses

According to individuals familiar with the matter, Ant International, the overseas arm of Jack Ma-backed Ant Group Co., will soon apply for regulated stablecoin licenses in Singapore and Hong Kong. The company is seeking regulatory approval to issue fiat-referenced stablecoins in the Asian jurisdictions, which could also extend to Luxembourg, the sources claim.

Per the insiders, the Singapore-based entity will initiate its application for a stablecoin issuer’s license in Hong Kong as early as August, once the city’s forthcoming Stablecoins Ordinance comes into effect. 

“We plan to apply for the fiat-referenced stablecoins (FRS) issuer’s license once the process is open after the Stablecoins Ordinance takes effect on August 1,” a spokesperson for Ant International told Reuters.

Ant International seeks approval for cross-border financial services

Ant International is seemingly applying for the licenses to fortify its blockchain-based financial infrastructure for cross-border payments and treasury management services. 

In 2023 alone, Ant processed over $1 trillion in global transactions. One-third of that volume was facilitated by the company’s Whale platform, a blockchain-based system that optimizes international fund flows.

The Whale platform is part of the company’s financial services backbone. It has features like homomorphic encryption, artificial intelligence, multiparty verification, and supports several tokenized assets issued by banks and institutions globally.

The company’s blockchain expansion is a pivot from its previously dominant lending business in China, which came under tighter regulatory control following the abrupt halt of Ant Group’s record-breaking IPO in 2020. 

The company has already signed collaboration agreements with over 10 global banks, including major players such as HSBC Holdings Plc, BNP Paribas SA, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Standard Chartered Plc. Just this week, it added Deutsche Bank AG to its list of partners to co-develop payment solutions and treasury services.

IPO and stablecoin regulation

Since the suspension of its IPO, Ant Group has been looking for new market growth initiatives. Regulatory crackdowns in China halted its once-profitable online lending operations under two platforms, Huabei and Jiebei.

In January 2022, Chinese regulators imposed stricter rules on online lending, requiring internet platforms and banks to contribute at least 30% of the funding for loans issued jointly. Before the new mandate, Ant Group’s micro-lending arms, Jiebei and Huabei, typically provided just 1% to 2% of the capital for such loans, according to research firm Financial Regulation & Law.

According to a Bloomberg report in May, Ant posted nearly $3 billion in revenue for 2024 and has delivered two straight years of adjusted profitability. Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence estimate that if the company were to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, it could command a valuation ranging between $8 billion and $24 billion.

Companies flock to stablecoin development and issuance

Ant International is among several major tech firms trying to enter the stablecoin market. Meta Platforms Inc., once attempted to launch its own stablecoin project in 2019, only to abandon the plan following backlash from US lawmakers and central bank. 

In parallel, traditional asset managers have begun issuing tokenized investment products that are similar to stablecoins for use in collateralized trading. Firms like BlackRock Inc. and Franklin Templeton have introduced tokenized money market funds.

On Tuesday, France’s Societe Generale announced plans to launch a publicly tradable, dollar-backed stablecoin through its digital asset unit, SG-FORGE. 

The new token, called “USD CoinVertible,” will be issued on Ethereum and Solana blockchains, with trading set to begin in July, according to a company statement.

SG-FORGE added that the stablecoin will be classified as an e-money token and regulated under the European Union’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework, which came into effect in 2023.

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