The postal service is now the second largest shareholder in Alibaba's financial services and online payment affiliate.

China Post Capital, the investment arm of Chinese state-owned postal service China Post Group, has agreed to invest an undisclosed sum in Ant Financial, China-based e-commerce group Alibaba’s payment services affiliate.

The funding was provided through a private placement, Technode reported yesterday, and will make China Post the second largest shareholder in Ant Financial behind Alibaba itself.

Ant Financial was formed by Alibaba in 2014 and comprises Alipay, China’s most popular online payment platform, as well as several other online…