Jack Ma's Ant Backed Indonesian Digital Wallet Firm Raises $250M From Alibaba And Others: Report

• Leading Indonesian digital wallet provider Dana raised $250 million from local conglomerate Pt Sinar Mas Multiartha Tbk (OTC: PSMUF) and Alibaba Group Holding Limited's (NYSE: BABA) Lazada Group, Bloomberg reports.

• Dana looks to expand in its home country and deepens its ties with Alibaba through the move.

• Dana, partly owned by Jack Ma's Ant Group Co, will use the funds to invest in new tech and launch more financial services in one of the fastest-growing fintech markets, CEO Vince Iswara said. Alibaba owns a third of Ant.

• The value of digital payments in the country has already exceeded both credit and debit card transactions in Indonesia, according to Bank Indonesia data.

• Dana plans to offer lending, wealth management, and insurance.

• Dana's funding coincides with Chinese fintech giant Ant's attempts to expand across Southeast Asia, where it has local partners in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.

• Ant set up a digital bank called ANEXT Bank in Singapore to beat the domestic regulatory hurdles.

• Digital payments are a crucial way for internet companies to win customers in Southeast Asia, a region of 650 million population with limited penetration of credit cards.

• Price Action: BABA shares traded higher by 0.26% at $91.43 in the premarket on the last check Wednesday.

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