Riyadh - Sharikat Mubasher: The Saudi Ministry of Investment (MISA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Ant International, a digital payment and fintech firm based in Singapore, to facilitate the company’s business expansion in Saudi Arabia, a recent statement revealed.

The agreement was signed in a ceremony attended by Saleh Al-Khabti, Deputy Minister of Investment Transactions at MISA, and Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International.

Under this agreement, MISA will support Ant International to establish an entity in the Kingdom and acquire necessary licenses and certificates to expand its services offerings in the Middle East.

Commenting on the partnership, Al-Khabti said: “We are seeing tremendous growth in digital payments in Saudi Arabia and we expect this trend to continue with Ant International’s expansion which will further boost the financial services sector in the Kingdom.”

He affirmed that hundreds of thousands of businesses in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East will benefit from the services provided by Ant International.

For his part, Feagin said: “We’re delighted to build upon our progress in the Middle East to support merchants’ access to our world-class payment solutions and inclusive financial services, providing Saudi businesses with various tools to grow and benefit from international travel and trade."