Ant International has opened its Global Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur in an expansion of its AI, payments and digital-finance operations.
Located at The Exchange 106 in TRX, the hub was unveiled by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (top middle).
The company will develop in Malaysia around 1,500 talents, more than half in tech-related roles. Nearly half of the tech team are recent graduates from more than 30 Malaysian universities, reflecting Ant’s effort to build a local pipeline of AI and fintech talent.
The new centre supports the “6T” strategy, which includes global travel, trade, growth, technology innovation, digital talent, and a trustworthy digital ecosystem.
CEO Peng Yang (top second from left) said the Malaysia base fits the country’s digital-transformation agenda and its push to grow micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Through Alipay+ and PayNet, spending by partner wallets via DuitNow QR rose by more than 60 percent in the first half of 2026. More than 600,000 merchants, mostly SMEs, received payments from Alipay+ partners, up more than 70 percent year on year.
Ant International’s EPOS360 AI-as-a-Service platform, launched with TNG Digital in January, now supports more than 14,000 Malaysian SMEs. Its Antom and 2C2P merchant tools have helped grow its Malaysian digital merchant base by nearly 60 percent and lifted transaction volumes by more than 50 percent year on year.
“Ant has many deep and long-term partnerships in Malaysia and the region, and with the unveiling of the Ant International Global Development Centre in Kuala Lumpur, we stand ready to support the AI Nation 2030 vision and digitalisation of Malaysia,” said Cyril Han (top second from right), CEO of Ant Group.
Photo caption: (From left) YB Senator Dato’ Seri DiRaja Dr Zambry bin Abd Kadir, Minister of Higher Education; Peng Yang, CEO of Ant International; YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Bin Ibrahim, Prime Minister of Malaysia; Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group; and Datuk Fabian Bigar, Secretary General to Ministry of Digital
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