A card displaying QR codes to pay electronically with WeChat Pay and Alipay sits on a vendor's table at a farmer's market in Beijing, Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020. China is accusing Washington of misusing national security as an excuse to hurt commercial competitors after President Donald Trump signed an order banning transactions with payment services Alipay and WeChat Pay and six other apps. Tuesday's order escalated a conflict with Beijing over technology, security and spying accusations that has plunged U.S.-Chinese relations to their lowest level in decades. Trump’s order cites unspecified concerns about apps collecting Americans’ personal and financial data and turning it over to China’s communist government. WeChat Pay is operated by rival tech giant Tencent.

Shares rose in Asia on Thursday after Wall Street rallied on expectations of more stimulus for the economy, despite chaotic scenes in Washington as Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. India's Sensex rose 0.6% and shares in most other markets were higher. Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 0.6% to 3,748.14. Financial stocks rose 4.4% for the biggest gain among the 11 sectors that make up the S&P 500. Several Big Tech stocks fell, including a 3.4% drop for Apple and a 2.8% decline for Facebook.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps, including Alipay and WeChat Pay. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)President Donald Trump has signed an executive order banning transactions with eight Chinese apps including Alipay and WeChat Pay in an escalation of a trade war that has been unfolding through most of his term. The same goes for Tuesday's executive order. Trump's order cites unspecified concerns about the apps collecting Americans' personal and financial information and turning it over to China’s communist government. Senior Trump administration officials indicated they hadn’t consulted with the president-elect’s team before issuing the latest effort to ban more China apps.

Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday as surging virus counts and China-U.S. tensions weighed on sentiment. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)TOKYO – Asian shares were mostly lower Wednesday as surging virus counts and China-U.S. tensions weighed on sentiment. A move by the Trump administration to further sanction Chinese companies fueled unease over tensions between the two biggest economies. In U.S. trading, China Telecom gained 8.8% on Tuesday but lost 2.1% in after hours trading. The majority of big stocks in the S&P 500 notched gains, with oil producers leading the way as crude prices strengthened.

The world's largest fintech company, China's Ant Group, will try to raise nearly $35 billion in a massive public offering of stock that would shatter records. To tap both Chinese and global investors, Ant Group is listing its shares both in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Even before announcing its IPO plans, Ant Group was the world’s most valuable fintech company, with a valuation of $150 billion after a 2018 fundraising round. “Ant Group is much more than PayPal which only processes financial payments. Alibaba, which currently owns a third of Ant Group, spun off Alipay in 2011.

HONG KONG – The world’s largest fintech company, China's Ant Group, will try to raise nearly $35 billion in a massive public offering of stock that would shatter records. Its Shanghai stock was priced at 68.8 yuan ($10.26) each, while its Hong Kong stock is priced at 80 Hong Kong dollars apiece ($10.32), according to filings on Monday. Ant Group will list on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Nov. 5, according to an exchange filing. It was later renamed Ant Financial, before its recent name change to Ant Group. Alibaba, which currently owns a third of Ant Group, will subscribe to 730 million shares and will hold a stake of about 32% after the IPO.

Alibaba-affiliated Ant Financial launched a new international version of its mobile payments app Alipay on Tuesday, marking the first time tourists and business travelers can use mobile payments in mainland China. The service could remove one of the biggest headaches for visitors to China, where everyone from taxi drivers to luxury malls have come to rely on mobile payments. Alipay users can now download and buy prepaid cards within the app using international debit and credit cards. Mobile payments in China hit $42 trillion in 2018, up more than 28 times from five years ago, the People's Bank of China said in a report earlier this year. Ant Financial said Tuesday that the new international service will allow it to tap into the growing number of visitors to China.

iStock/liveslowHANGZHOU, China - China's national women's soccer team just got a big boost from online payments app Alipay. It is the biggest investment in women's soccer in China ever, according to Alipay. Alipay wants to bring "technology, funds and resources to better support the development of women's soccer in China," a spokesman for the company said on Monday. Gianni Infantino, president of global soccer's governing body FIFA, said the organization will double it for the next women's World Cup in 2023. The company wants to be the "strongest advocate" for China women's soccer, CEO Eric Jing said in a statement Friday.