By Kim Yoo-chul
KG Inicis, the nation’s leading provider for various comprehensive payment services, said Tuesday it has formed a strategic alliance with Alipay of China in what analysts see as a move to bolster the Korean company’s Chinese presence.
Under the alliance, customers in China who have appetites to buy consumer products in Korea are allowed to pay Chinese currency by using Alipay’s processing networks, while registered Korean companies using Inicis’ payment systems will be paid by the South Korean won, Inicis said in a statement.
KG Inicis stocks hiked by 7.76 percent to end at 11,800 won on the nation’s junior and tech-heavy KOSDAQ market, according to the data from the bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX).
Alipay is an online payment services provider. Founded by the Alibaba group, it allows individuals and businesses to execute payment processing systems. Alipay’s systems are currently being used in some 460,000 firms in China including those in major e-commerce sites such as Taobao.com and Alibaba.com, the statement added.
Alipay is a China’s online payment solution provider, which offers an easy, safe and secure way for millions of individuals and even businesses.
``We hope the alliance give a big cue for Korea-based online sellers to strengthen their bottom line and to penetrate the highly-lucrative and growing China’s e-commerce market, effectively,’’ said Inicis spokeswoman Byun Eul-kyung.
Byun said Inicis has also been in further business talks with top-ranked payment services companies, though she declined to name of the next business partners, citing the sensitivity of the issue.