For Chinese consumers, Ant Group app is part of the fabric of life

This July 20, 2020, file photo, shows, the app for Alipay, the mobile payments service operated by Ant Group, on a smartphone in Beijing. - AP

SHANGHAI (AFP): The most essential item in aircraft engineer Tao Rui's possession during a recent outing in Shanghai was the Alipay smartphone app from Ant Group, a company little known outside China until it unfurled plans for the biggest IPO in history.

As Tao and a friend strolled the city at the weekend, he used Alipay to buy a cup of milk tea, a deep-fried octopus snack and a box of candy. He also used it to play a basketball game at an arcade, make a small donation to a street musician, and produce a health code signalling he was coronavirus-free before entering a Buddhist temple.