KUALA LUMPUR (July 24): CIMB Group Holdings Bhd's 52%-owned subsidiary Touch 'n Go Sdn Bhd (TNG) has signed a joint venture agreement with Ant Financial Services Group, which owns mobile payment Alipay, to co-develop e-wallet solutions and related services here.

The agreement, where TNG will hold majority stake in the JV company and the rest by Ant Financial, will have an immediate focus to develop a mobile wallet for local users to allow basic and daily transactions via mobile phones. 

Speaking to the press during the signing ceremony here today, CIMB group chief executive officer/executive director Tengku Datuk Sri Zafrul Aziz said the JV articulated a clear strategy to bring TNG to "the next level". 

"I have said before that CIMB's venture into digital payments must be multi-pronged.

"The collaboration will introduce a world-class e-wallet for Malaysians, and we plan to bring differenciated products for the local users," Tengku Zafrul said.

Alipay SEA region general manager Dayong Zhang said the JV is aligned with the company's intention to focus on users who are currently underserved by financial service providers.

"We will bring Ant Financial Services technology for the developments of futute products through the collaboration," said Zhang. 

"This JV will develop the necessary ecosystem for mobile payments, and it will collaborate with other banks to bring their services into the ecosystem," he added.

The JV, added Tengku Azrul, solodified the partnership between CIMB and Ant Services, which began with CIMB's introduction of Alipay in tourists sites across Malaysia for Chinese tourists back in March this year. 

Both CIMB and Ant Financial will also provide the necessary capital to get the JV project up-and-running, said Tengku Azrul without elaborating further.

"For now, from CIMB's side, we have no intention to bring the venture outside of Malaysia. First we have to put something in the hands of Malaysians that they will use," said Tengku Azrul.

"We have to make sure we are able to put products into the market. This will be a new thing in Malaysia," he added.

Since the inception of Ant Financial by Chinese Alibaba Group, Alipay's mobile payment solutions has since expanded to become the world's biggest, with 10 million merchants in China alone and footprints reaching as far as the US.

On the other hand, TNG has been the go-to electronic payment purposes for millions of Malaysians at told roads, public transportation systems, vehicle parking and retail outlets.