According to reports in foreign media, Alibaba's fintech company Ant Financial has acquired substantial shares of Vietnam e-wallet provider eMonkey.

This strategic investment is reportedly Ant Financial's eighth international payment transaction, which allows the Chinese company to enter the booming Vietnamese market. Vietnam has a population of nearly 100 million and one-fourth of the people are under the age of 25. At the same time, Vietnam's e-commerce market is undergoing a rapid development.

An insider revealed that Ant Financial will offer technical expertise to eMonkey. Though Ant Financial's shareholding will be no more than 50%, its joining is expected to bring important influence to the e-wallet established by the Vietnamese fintech company M-Pay Trade.

It is said that eMonkey already gained operating license from the State Bank of Vietnam. In addition, M-Pay Trade has established cooperation partnerships with most banks and telecom companies in the country.

At present, local e-wallet provider Momo, funded by Standard Chartered, is the market leader in the Vietnamese digital payment market and it is the major competitor of eMonkey.