TikTok owner, Ant Financial said to have put in bids

Singapore

CHINA'S ByteDance Technology, which owns the popular video-sharing app TikTok, is said to have applied for a wholesale digital banking licence in Singapore, The Business Times understands.

This comes as the firm - said to be the world's largest tech startup with a reported valuation of more than US$75 billion as at 2018 - had earlier signalled intentions to edge into financial services.

The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that in late 2018, the firm had filed for trademarks in China, including one that was categorised under the business of insurance and financial services.

One trademark was reportedly known as Zijiefu, which is meant as a payments service.

TikTok is a wildly popular social-media platform in China that allows the sharing of short-form mobile videos.

ByteDance - started in 2012 - also owns other media businesses, including a news aggregator service in China. It is reportedly looking to expand into the music streaming business as well, the Financial Times reported in November. ByteDance declined to comment when contacted by BT.

Its expansion into banking services here heralds the arrival of Chinese tech companies muscling into Singapore's banking sector, with the regulator here opening the doors to non-banks to enter the financial sector.

On Thursday, Bloomberg reported that Ant Financial is also gunning for a wholesale digital banking licence.

A spokesman from Ant Financial told Bloomberg that the Chinese giant aims to contribute "to the development of the digital banking landscape in Singapore".

Ant Financial did not respond to BT's email requesting for comment by press time.

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