BEIJING - Ant Financial, the parent company of Alipay, announced a partnership with CK Hutchison Holdings Tuesday to jointly operate payment services in Hong Kong.

A joint venture will be completed by the end of the year and expand Alipay's presence in Hong Kong with the assistance of CK Hutchison and its affiliated companies, which have over 600 stores selling telecommunications, food, electronics, wine and health and beauty products serving over 6.6 million customers.

Alipay HK attracted over 100,000 active users in the first two weeks after its launch last May. The mobile app is now accepted in over 4,000 leading retail outlets in Hong Kong.

With a tech-savvy population and over 50 million visitors annually, Hong Kong is an ideal place to integrate digital innovation into traditional retail, said a statement of Ant Financial.

The new partnership will promote a more efficient and productive cashless society in Hong Kong, the statement said.