Alipapay's parent company, Ant Financial, was
valued at around $60 billion back in April when it raised $4.5 billion. According to a Bloomberg
report, Ant Financial's valuation has since risen to $75 billion, which would make the relatively unknown financial firm more
valuable than one of the most iconic and recognizable financial firms, Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS).
Bloomberg cited Elinor Leung, a Hong Kong-based analyst with CLSA who provided a breakdown of Ant Financial's valuation. The
analyst estimates that Alipay, a service that was created by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE: BABA) for its customers to more easily buy goods online, is worth $50 billion.
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Ant Financial's micro loans service is worth another $8 billion, its wealth management unit is worth $7 billion and the
remainder comes from investments and cash on hand.
Goldman Sachs' valuation as of Tuesday morning was around $66 billion.
Leung further suggested that Ant Financial's valuation could rise to $100 billion in just two years, as the current valuation
doesn't include growth brought in by insurance, credit scoring and cloud computing.
Investors dreaming of buying into an initial public offering may have to do so internationally. Bloomberg noted the company is
considering an IPO in Hong Kong in the first half of the year.
Ant Financial is controlled by Alibaba's chairman Jack Ma and Alibaba stands to benefit from an IPO through an option to buy a
one third stake or receive a one-time payment.
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