Ant International opens Kuala Lumpur development centre
Malaysia fintech expansion gathered pace on 1 July 2026 when Ant International opened its Global Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur and confirmed plans to develop around 1,500 talents in the city, with more than half in tech roles.
The centre sits at The Exchange 106 in TRX, Malaysia’s international financial centre. Ant International said the site will support its global innovation work and business growth from Malaysia.
Prime Minister YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim officiated the unveiling ceremony. Datuk Fabian Bigar, secretary general to the Ministry of Digital, and YB Senator Dato’ Seri DiRaja Dr. Zambry bin Abd Kadir, minister of higher education, also attended.
Cyril Han, chief executive of Ant Group, said: “With a visionary leadership and a vibrant business and tech community, Malaysia is on the way to becoming a leading regional and global hub for digital and AI innovation.”
He added that the company was ready to support Malaysia’s AI Nation 2030 vision through the new Kuala Lumpur base.
According to Ant International, the project fits its ‘6T’ strategy. That covers global travel, global trade, growth, technology, digital talent and trust.
More than 600,000 merchants, mainly SMEs, received payments from an Alipay+ partner in the first half of 2026 through the PayNet partnership. That total was more than 70% higher than a year earlier.
Meanwhile, spending by Alipay+ partners through the DuitNow national QR network rose by more than 60%. The increase came as Malaysia promoted Visit Malaysia 2026 and travel activity lifted cross-border payment use.
Ant International said Alipay+ was the largest contributor to inbound QR transactions in Malaysia in that period.
EPOS360 supports 14,000 SMEs
Since launching in January 2026 with TNG Digital, Ant International’s EPOS360 AI-as-a-Service platform has supported more than 14,000 Malaysian SMEs.
The service combines digital point-of-sale management, payments, banking, credit financing and business growth tools for smaller businesses.
Malaysian payment apps supported by PayNet are also set to reach more than 150 million merchants in more than 220 markets connected to Alipay+.
In 2025, WorldFirst received in-principle approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to operate under a Class A Money Services Business licence. Ant International is now building a local operations team in Malaysia before a full launch.
For larger corporate clients, AirAsia cut foreign exchange-related costs by 40% using Ant International’s open-sourced AI FX model.
Peng Yang, chief executive of Ant International, said: “We are committed to long-term investments into growing world-calibre innovators as well as AI commerce solutions from Malaysia.”
