- Multi- tribal culture coupled with skill, cost based, friendly policies important draw
- Give companies from all 4 key columns of Ant International’s company to worldwide customers
If you thought the release of five online banks last year had stirred up the competition for blockchain talent in Malaysia, then reconsider.
With the statement in KL on April 19 from Singapore-based Ant International, which Alibaba founded in 2012 and currently owns a 33 % stake in, that it plans to establish a online business center in Malaysia with a staff of 500 executives by 2025 and plans for ongoing getting into 2028, the competition really got a lot more cooked.
The majority of the roles will be tech and knowledge focused, with the biggest team being the Technology and Development department composed of software engineers, followed by product &, design ( UX, UI, product design ), data science, business development, finance, management, and risk control.
For each of these agencies, Ant International is bringing in a whole set of responsibilities said Nina Xiao, HR Director of Ant International. For example, in data research it will have data technology and modelling, risk data, business data and operating data expertise. ” So that’s to say that we mean it for real. We are bringing in all the features for the center here in Malaysia”, she stressed.
While there are many places where Ant International may have chosen to have a Digital Business Center, Malaysia is not only juicy with skills and opportunities but it also has quite forward-looking policies, and a government that supports the development of a digital market, Douglas Feagin, chairman of Ant International, explained why the Singapore-based international business arm of the Hangzhou based Ant Group Ptd Ltd. had chosen Malaysia for this expansion.
The country’s multi- ethnic culture fabric is another strong draw, compared to other markets said Xiao,” So that’s why I think, if we’re setting up our global centers, Malaysia could be one of the destinations as (our ) people who are coming here wo n’t feel it’s so difficult to blend in”.
aims to construct a massive operations center in Malaysia
Feagin says Ant International wants to establish” a huge operations center in Malaysia” over the next 10 to 20 years, starting with the 500 executive officers the company is ready to hire right away, while expressing confidence in their investment in Malaysia, where it sees “huge long term growth.”
To be clear, the center in Malaysia is not specialized in serving customers from Malaysia or Southeast Asia. It will be handling customers from all over the world with the long-term growth that Ant International anticipates coming from the early stages of adoption of both digital payments and business digitization, with Ant International developing the tools to assist businesses in adopting digital.  ,
Without disclosing the investment amount, Feagin stressed that Ant International will be investing a lot,” and that’s both the initial investment, then the ongoing investment”.
It helps that Southeast Asia makes up the largest portion of Ant International’s global business, said Feagin. While Ant International has also expanded in Singapore, moving into larger premises last year, Malaysia, with its combination of talent, world class infrastructure, strong digital economy push and cost advantage, is where the action is going to be for the group, which has confirmed that it will be moving into the premium Exchange 106 tower ( formerly known as TRX Signature Tower ).
This Malaysian center will be where we have the most people and be a core engine of our growth, Feagin said. Here, we will represent all of our various business ventures.
By all, he means the four key pillars of Ant International’s business:
- Cross-border mobile payment service Alipay , which connects over 88 million merchants to 1.5 billion consumer accounts on over 25 e-wallets and banking apps in 57 nations and regions, enables customers to travel and make payments worry-free across borders, and allows retailers to develop cross-border consumer engagement and digital marketing. Alipay is integrated with Malaysia’s national QR, DuitNow QR.
- Antom Merchant Payment Services, a service that assists global retailers in digital communication with customers in Asia and the world.
- With its World Account, WorldFirst has created a digital payment and financial service for cross-border trade SMEs, helping over 1 million SMEs expand internationally. By 2024, it plans to serve Malaysian SMEs.
- The Monetary Authority of Singapore regulates ANEXT Bank, a digital wholesale bank focused on providing SMEs with simple, affordable financial services.
According to Mahadhir Aziz, CEO of Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation ( MDEC ),” The opening of the new Digital Business Center in Malaysia plays an important role for local tech talent to thrive in the digital industry.” He added that Ant International’s decision will also lead to the creation of investment opportunities and “position Malaysia as the digital hub of ASEAN.”
Career development for young talent
In order to support its aggressive hiring plans, Ant International intends to work with local partners to develop the tech talent it needs, including through initiatives like its 10×1000 online platform, an open and global learning community, and to foster and inspire future digital leaders through  , mentorship exposure with Ant International’s leaders. It has trained 120 people in the nation over the past few years, with the aid of partners like MDEC, TNG Digital, and the Fintech Association of Malaysia, with the help of pf partners like TNG Digital and the Fintech Association of Malaysia, with 33 % of those being female.
Additionally, it is laying out the welcome mat for recent graduates and interns with Xiao, highlighting the strong culture at Ant International and the company’s potential for rapid career growth as the company develops. She points to the company’s chief technology officer. She continued,” He started with us over ten years ago and is now the CTO,” noting that this is not an isolated example because many of its key technology leaders today started out as fresh graduates who grew with the business.
The business also fosters a culture of sharing experience. For each newcomer, we’ll pair them with an experienced senior as their buddy to give them daily guidance and professional career advice to ease them into the new working environment and learn quickly, Xiao said.
” Those who join our team will have a front row seat to global fintech innovation and collaborations, and they will play a role in our mission to influence the future of fintech and commerce,” said Feagin.
He expressed his excitement at the prospect of launching a new chapter of Ant International’s Journey in Malaysia, where they have contributed for the past ten years.
With the Malaysian government encouraging the development of tech skills and positioning Malaysia as an innovation hub,” We are now looking forward to a future that is more global, more connected, and more inclusive.” We think that working with partners like MDEC can significantly increase the impact our local tech talents can have both globally and locally.