Alibaba's Ant Financial in overseas push with MoneyGram deal

Bad timing?: Ant's acquisition of MoneyGram comes against a backdrop of rising tensions between China and the US.

Ant Financial Services Group, the world's largest financial technology company, said on Thursday that it would acquire US money-transfer company MoneyGram International Inc for about US$880mil (RM3.9bil) in a deal that is expected to shake up the international payments landscape.

Ant, the payment affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, dominates the online payments industry in China. With this acquisition it will significantly expand its presence overseas, as competition from domestic rival Tencent Holdings Ltd's Wechat payment system heats up.