Ant Group has bought a 50.55% stake in Hong Kong brokerage firm Yau Choi Securities for about $360 million and quietly reorganized its board of directors in preparation for obtaining a domestic stablecoin license.
Ant Group has completed its acquisition of Hong Kong-listed Yau Choi Securities, acquiring a 50.55% controlling stake in what the local market calls “stablecoin concept” shares for HK$2.814 billion (approximately $360 million).
Ant agreed to buy about 858 million shares at HK$3.28 per share, a 17.6% premium to Yau Choi’s closing price of HK$2.79 on April 22, 2025, according to transaction documents cited by RootData.
The transaction will be executed through Shanghai Yunjin Information Technology tied to Ant’s internet asset platform, giving Alibaba’s fintech arm effective control over a fully licensed Hong Kong intermediary at a time when the city is rolling out dedicated rules for stablecoin issuers and virtual asset trading platforms.
RootData reports that Yautsui’s board has now been “completely restructured” with senior Ant Group managers appointed as executive directors. The new directors include Zheng Yanlan, head of Ant Wealth’s overseas business preparation team, Huang Hao, Ant Group senior vice president, and Liu Zheng, chief financial officer, suggesting that the company treats the brokerage as a strategic hub rather than a passive investment.
In Weex’s market overview summarizing this change, commentators described Yau Choi as a “Hong Kong stablecoin concept stock,” a term used by traders in the region to refer to companies seen as potential beneficiaries of future stablecoin regulations.
