Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Enters into Agreement to Invest US$600 Million in Ant Financial

TORONTO, June 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) announced today that it entered into a definitive agreement to invest approximately US$600 million in Ant International Co., Limited ("Ant International"), a wholly-owned off-shore subsidiary of Ant Small and Micro Financial Services Group Co., Ltd. ("Ant Financial" or the "Company"), a tech company dedicated to using technology to bring the world equal opportunities.

Since the launch of Alipay in 2004 and the establishment of Ant Financial in 2014, the Company has built an integrated technology platform and an eco-system of partners to bring more secure, transparent, cost-effective and inclusive financial services to individuals and small and medium enterprises globally. The Company will continue to invest in developing its blockchain, Artificial Intelligence, security, Internet of Things and computing capabilities to upgrade its global technology platform for the next generation.

"China's growing online financial market presents meaningful opportunities for leading participants like Ant Financial," said Suyi Kim, Senior Managing Director, Head of Asia Pacific, CPPIB. "Through this investment, CPPIB is able to contribute to Ant Financial's efforts to provide a full range of products and services to empower financial institutions and other partners both globally and in China, where it will further transform financial systems through innovation in technology."

In the year ended March 31, 2018, Alipay, together with its global partners, served approximately 870 million annual active users globally and over 15 million small businesses in China. Ant Financial is dedicated to building an open ecosystem with global partners, and will continue to invest in technology and innovation in order to serve unmet financial needs of people everywhere and to enable them to benefit from the development of the digital economy.

About CPPIB
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) is a professional investment management organization that invests the funds not needed by the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) to pay current benefits on behalf of 20 million contributors and beneficiaries. In order to build a diversified portfolio of CPP assets, CPPIB invests in public equities, private equities, real estate, infrastructure and fixed income instruments. Headquartered in Toronto, with offices in Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, New York City, São Paulo and Sydney, CPPIB is governed and managed independently of the Canada Pension Plan and at arm's length from governments. At March 31, 2018, the CPP Fund totalled $356.1 billion. For more information about CPPIB, please visit www.cppib.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.

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