Ant Financial Services, the financial services affiliate of e-commerce group Alibaba, has invested RMB199m ($32m) in China-based financial information and services provider Shumi Fund, National Business Daily has reported.
Shumi Fund provides financial information to investors and fund managers. It is the owner of Fund123.com, an online financial data platform that targets individual investors in China.
Ant acquired a 60.8% stake in Shumi through subsidiaries Zhejing Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group in the deal.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma also holds a 20% stake in financial software provider Hundsun Technologies, which was Shumi Fund’s majority shareholder prior to the Ant Financial investment.
Shumi fund has been operating with losses for the last two years, but Ant Financial is set to join forces with Hundsun in the hope of building it into a competitive online investment platform.