Ant Group expands Alipay into two business units in latest restructuring move
The company will adopt a ‘rotating presidential system’ for the two new businesses, with each unit president serving a six-month term
Ant Group, the fintech giant affiliated with Alibaba Group Holding, is splitting the business group of its mobile payment platform Alipay into two units, in its latest corporate restructuring move to drive new growth.
The company will establish the Digital Payment Business Group and Alipay Business Group, and adopt a “rotating presidential system” for the two units with each president serving a six-month term, according to an internal letter circulated by Ant president Cyril Han Xinyi on Monday, seen by the South China Morning Post.
The Digital Payment Business Group will focus on the development of innovative payment products, integrating five departments including the Online Payment Business Unit and Offline Payment Business Unit. The Alipay Business Group, which covers six units including advertising and digital products, will focus on the user base growth and monetisation of Alipay.
For Alipay, the change means the mobile payment platform has achieved “phased results in its transformation from a tool-based software to the internet”, Han said in the letter, adding that it also showed Alipay’s determination to digitise the service industry.
The latest move comes months after Hangzhou-based Ant launched a sweeping reorganisation. In March, it announced it would restructure operations into several independently-run business units, including its overseas unit Ant International, database operation OceanBase, and Ant Digital Technologies, each with their own boards of directors. It also promoted Han to company president, taking over from Eric Jing Xiandong.
