This week, Ant Financial acquired a $38M stake in Shanghai Suntime, a data provider tracking Chinese hedge funds. It's money market fund Yu’E Bao, is in talks to invest in Chinese business magazine publisher Caixin Media. Alibaba itself acquired Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post and last year formed a JV with Shanghai Media Group Inc. to create a financial data and information service.
With the latest acquisition, Ant Financial is tapping the potential of the nation’s rapidly-growing hedge fund industry as more wealthy Chinese turn to private managers. Shanghai Suntime, founded in 2003 by Liao, runs one of the biggest databases tracking Chinese hedge funds, provides profit forecasts for listed companies and offers wealth-management services.