Ant Financial raised $14 billion from a combination of domestic and international investors, cash the company said will be used to accelerate global expansion and increase its influence in developing markets.

The company, which runs mobile payment giant Alipay, highlighted aims to  expand its existing products to new markets while also investing in platforms to provide financial services to unbanked, the underbanked and small enterprises.

Its investment round raised $4 billion more than had initially been anticipated by media and comes ahead of an IPO widely expected to take place by the end of the year. Investors included a number of major international pension and other investment funds.

In a statement, Ant Financial attributed the sum raised to its “strong business profile, technology-driven revenue growth and rapid global expansion”.

Ant Financial executive chairman and CEO Eric Jing said investors “share our vision and mission, to embark on our journey to further promote inclusive finance globally and bring equal opportunities to the world.”

“We are dedicated to building an open ecosystem with all our partners in China and beyond. We will continue to invest in technology and innovation in order to serve unmet financial needs of people everywhere and to enable them to benefit from the development of the digital economy.”

Last weeks reports emerged suggesting Ant Financial was set to move away from consumer services in favour of a B2B focused strategy in the coming years.