According to the Star Daily on December 23 (Reporter Huang Xinyi), ANT GROUP CO., LTD. is making another adjustment.

According to a reporter from the Star Daily, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. issued an internal letter today, stating that for the new year, in order to more decisively and rapidly advance the implementation of the dual-flywheel and AI-First strategy, the Alipay Sector will undergo the following organizational adjustments:

Establish the Digital Payment Sector to accelerate the development of innovative payment products and consolidate the payment foundation. The Digital Payment Sector will be formed based on the online payment division (formerly the Internet Plus-Related payment division), offline payment division, and Alipay (China); the general managers of each division remain unchanged, still serving as Qin Yi, Shan Gong, and Hong You respectively; the enterprise code business upgrades to a division with Fugui continuing to concurrently serve as general manager; the small wallet business that has spun off from the offline payment division will upgrade to a division, with Shan Gong concurrently serving as general manager; both the enterprise code and small wallet divisions belong to the Digital Payment Sector.

Establish a new Alipay Sector to accelerate user growth and activity and speed up commercialization. The new Alipay Sector will be formed based on the APP Sector, Advertising Sector, Digital Product Sector, Digital Livelihood Sector, Digital Travel and Hospitality Sector, and Digital Logistics Sector (formerly the Digital Logistics & Enterprise Code Sector); the general managers of each division remain unchanged.

The letter to all staff states that although the name of the new Alipay Sector has not changed, its connotation has significantly differed, marking a transitional achievement from Alipay as a tool-based Software toward the Internet, and reflecting Alipay's commitment to digitalization in the service industry.

In addition, the Digital Payment Sector and Alipay Sector established a rotating presidency system. The rotating president is the primary responsible person for advancing ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s overall strategy within the Sector, responsible for external receptions and various affairs in the capacity of Sector President, and attending ANT GROUP CO., LTD.'s presidential meetings: the rotating president's term lasts six months, with the first term beginning from the release of this notification until June 30, 2025. Qin Yi and Pu Tian serve as the rotating presidents of the Digital Payment Sector and Alipay Sector respectively.

In the future, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. will further explore the two strategies of in-depth services for vertical Industries and life management in the AI era, focusing on innovative organizational methods in medical health, Sesame Credit, and Circular Economy along with Zhixiaobao, to be officially announced after further confirmation.

In 2023, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. established three major strategic directions: "AI First," "Alipay Dual Flywheel," and "Accelerating Globalization." Under the "AI First" strategy, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. launched the Bailing large model and based on this, introduced three major applications for life, Medical, and finance - Zhixiaobao, AI Health Steward, and NEO.

"Alipay Dual Flywheel" strategy focuses on two major businesses: Digital Payment and Digital Interconnection. Among them, Digital Payment includes the next-generation payment technology platform developed by Alipay using NFC and other technologies. On July 8, Alipay announced the launch of "Alipay Touch," where users do not need to display the payment code, simply touching their phones to the merchant's payment device. Public data shows that since its launch in July, "Touch" has covered hundreds of cities nationwide, connecting over 1,000 large shopping malls, business districts, and many chain merchants across the country.

This time, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. is independently splitting into a Digital Payment business group, placing it alongside the new Alipay business group, which means that in 2025 it will increase efforts to promote the development of next-generation payment products.

According to the latest news, as ANT GROUP CO., LTD. announces another strategic shift, a seasoned finance executive from Cainiao, Liu Zheng, steps into the spotlight. It is reported that after announcing President Han Xinyi will take over as CEO from March 1, 2025, ANT GROUP CO., LTD. began gradually filling the vacant executive positions, with the key Chief Financial Officer (CFO) role to be taken over by Liu Zheng, the CFO of Cainiao, succeeding Han Xinyi.

Liu Zheng has a strong background in finance, having joined Alibaba in June 2010 as a Senior Finance Director, responsible for the financial operation of core business sectors such as Tmall, Taobao, and Alibaba International Station. In 2016, he served as the CFO of Cainiao, playing an important role in the construction of Cainiao's financial system and strategic planning. Moreover, he has served as a non-executive Director at ZTO Express, ALI PICTURES, and AGTech Holdings Limited, and held senior positions in the auditing department of PwC.