CIMB Group Holdings, based in Malaysia, and Ant International, from Singapore, have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore advancements in cross-border payments and treasury and liquidity management solutions.
The collaboration will leverage the capabilities of both parties, with Ant International’s businesses—such as Alipay+, Antom, and Bettr Treasury—working alongside CIMB’s expertise in cash management, treasury and markets, credit and financing, capital markets, and sustainability initiatives.
A crucial part of their agreement involves the development of a digital framework aimed at enhancing treasury and liquidity operations for both companies. This framework will utilize Ant International’s blockchain-based treasury management solution, provided it complies with relevant regulatory requirements and approvals. It is intended to promote capital efficiency, transparency, and cross-border liquidity optimization across their respective financial ecosystems.
Strategic and regulatory environment
The MoU supports CIMB’s Forward30 digital transformation strategy, which aims to integrate innovation into its core operations. The partnership also reflects CIMB’s recent involvement in Bank Negara Malaysia’s Digital Assets Innovation Hub, positioning the initiative within a broader national push for developing digital financial infrastructure.
Group CEO of CIMB, Novan Amirudin, stated that this collaboration will help accelerate the bank’s adoption of distributed ledger technology (DLT) in the treasury ecosystem and position CIMB as a leader in building scalable digital financial infrastructure across ASEAN, focusing on efficiency, transparency, and cross-border connectivity for clients.
Douglas Feagin, President of Ant International, emphasized that the partnership aims to scale institutional adoption of tokenization, which is a core component of next-generation financial infrastructure, to foster a more efficient and inclusive financial ecosystem in Malaysia.
Implementation plans
Both parties have committed to developing the framework with a focus on scalability and practicality to meet evolving institutional treasury needs in the region. The initiative is guided by principles of responsible digital innovation within a defined governance structure, although specific timelines for operational deployment remain subject to regulatory approvals.
