À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Yonhap]
China¡¯s Alibaba Group is gearing up to expand Alipay to Koreans to target the country`s burgeoning mobile pay market dominated by local names.
Alibaba representatives have discussed the matter with Korean financial authorities to file for a license early next year, according to industry sources.
Alibaba has been readying its entry into the Korean market. In 2015, it teamed up with Korean lender Hana Bank to service Chinese tourists and online shoppers of Korean products. Alibaba also bought a 43.9 percent stake in Kakao Pay through its subsidiary Alipay Singapore Holdings.
Industry observers speculate Alibaba could offload some of its Kakao Pay shares after the Korean payment service¡¯s initial public offering next year and use the proceeds as funding to better penetrate the Korean market.
"In Korea, like in all other jurisdictions where Alipay has operations, we are committed to working with local partners to serve merchants and brands in compliance with applicable laws and regulations. We do not wish to comment on market rumors and speculations," Alipay said in a statement.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë Alipay would be up against Korean players like Naver, Coupang and Shinsegae, which run their own pay systems to promote their e-commerce business.
The mobile payment service tends to have a strong lock-in effect that would make it difficult for foreign players to gain ground, one financial industry expert noted.
There are also concerns about Alipay¡¯s security issues. Alibaba has its own cloud computing service, with the data center located in China.
By Oh Dae-seok, Lee Sae-ha and Kim Hyo-jin
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]