Ant International today officially opened its Global Development Centre (GDC) in Kuala Lumpur, deepening its long-term commitment to Malaysia and Southeast Asia, and strengthening the country's role as a strategic hub for global innovation, digital talent, and next-generation financial technology. The unveiling ceremony was officiated by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato' Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Ant International's GDC is located at The Exchange 106, within TRX, Malaysia's dedicated international financial centre.
Ant International opens Global Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Creating 1,500 fintech roles in Malaysia, over 50% in technology roles.
EPOS360 AI-as-a-Service platform now supports 14,000+ Malaysian SMEs.
Alipay+ partners spending via DuitNow increased 60%+, supporting Visit Malaysia 2026.
Touch 'n Go eWallet serves 26M+ consumers and businesses.
Exploring next-generation financial infrastructure with CIMB.
Ant International has created around 1,500 fintech roles in Malaysia, with more than 50 percent serving in technology roles, contributing to Ant International's global businesses in AI, payments, SME digitalisation and financial technology. Today, around half of its tech team are recent graduates, from across more than 30 universities in Malaysia, as the company collaborates with local partners like the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). Ant International will also deepen its collaboration with the Malaysian government and local universities, including with the Ministry of Higher Education, to co-develop more FinAI talents through hackathons, trainings, and curated curricula.
The GDC builds on Ant International's longstanding partnerships with leading Malaysian organisations. Together with CIMB and TNG Digital, Ant International has supported Touch 'n Go eWallet since 2017, which today serves over 26 million consumers and businesses. Through Alipay+ and its partnership with PayNet, international travellers can use their home e-wallets to pay seamlessly at millions of merchants. In the first half of 2026, more than 600,000 merchants received payment from an Alipay+ partner — up more than 70% year-on-year. Total traveller spending via DuitNow rose more than 60%.
In January 2026, Ant International launched EPOS360 in Malaysia — an AI-as-a-Service platform that gives SMEs access to digital POS management, payments, banking, credit financing and growth tools in one place. EPOS360 now serves over 14,000 SMEs across Malaysia. WorldFirst obtained in-principle approval from Bank Negara Malaysia to operate under a Class A Money Services Business, enabling cross-border financial services. Through Bettr, Ant International aims to extend inclusive financial services to underserved groups like gig workers and micro-enterprise owners.
Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group, stated: "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. In the next 6 to 12 months, the agentic AI revolution will be in full swing, bringing about a revolution in commerce that we need to prepare for now."
Peng Yang, CEO of Ant International, added: "Ant International's development evolves around the '6T' sustainable development strategy: facilitating global travel, empowering global trade, promoting robust growth, driving innovation through technology, nurturing digital talent, and building a trustworthy digital ecosystem. This aligns perfectly with Malaysia's national agenda of promoting digital transformation."
About Ant International
Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation and financial technology provider. Through collaboration across the private and public sectors, our unified techfin platform supports financial institutions and merchants of all sizes to achieve inclusive growth through a comprehensive range of cutting-edge digital payment and financial services solutions.
