With the latest funding round that valued Ant Financial at US$150 billion, many readers of TLD asked us what is really behind the success and prospects, beyond what is written in the news.

Well, it takes at least a few hours to explain things very clearly, with context, journey, as well as products that succeeded or failed along the way. We did that over half a day for a number of Southeast Asian investor friends early last week – and one of them stepped back from an investment into a payment company he almost committed.

Nonetheless, we have written about Ant Financial’s journey a number of times at TLD. Here is the collection – and they would give you a glimpse:

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