China's most valuable online finance company, Ant Financial, is looking to raise more than $3 billion in debt to fund international expansion, according to technology news website The Information.
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The finance arm of online shopping giant Alibaba Group is in early talks with bankers to raise funds, possibly by issuing bonds or bank loans, the news site said on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the talks.
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"It is the market practice for a globalised company like Ant Financial to raise debt in U.S. dollars," a representative of Ant Financial told Reuters, when contacted for comment, but gave no further details.
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Ant, valued at about $60 billion after a funding round last April, is set to have an initial public offering, although the company has not specified a timeframe or listing venue.
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With 450 million users of its Alipay payment service, Ant is making an aggressive push to expand internationally.
Last month, it said it would acquire U.S. money-transfer company MoneyGram International Inc for about $880 million. It has also invested in Indian mobile e-commerce website Paytm and Thai financial technology firm Ascend Money.
Ant is controlled by Alibaba founder Jack Ma.
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