Mobile payment and lifestyle platform Alipay has launched its latest Double 12 Global Shopping Festival in 15 countries spanning four continents.

Alipay is run by Ant Financial Services Group (part of Alibaba Group) whose strategic partners in Hong Kong, India, Thailand and the Philippines will introduce campaigns for their local e-wallet users for the first time. These partners include PayTM in India, TrueMoney in Thailand and GCash in the Philippines.

Together with CK Hutchison Holdings, AlipayHK was launched in Hong Kong in September to further develop service offerings in the city. CK Hutchison and Ant Financial’s joint venture is subject to regulatory approval, and is expected to complete in the first quarter of next year.

“In short, we call it ‘glocalisation’,” says Ant Financial Services president of international business Douglas Feagin. “This concept is about developing Alipay globally while also developing localised service offerings.

“Working with our global merchants network, we also continue to focus on enhancing the Alipay mobile payment experience for Mainland Chinese tourists wherever they travel.”

As part of this year’s Double 12 Shopping Festival, almost 10,000 merchants in Hong Kong and Macau will offer exclusive discounts this month to Alipay users from the mainland. A key feature this year will be Hong Kong delicacies, with a promotion of Hong Kong snacks in Mongkok for Alipay users. In the Guangdong province, Alipay users will receive cashback for every payment made in more than 2 million stores.

AlipayHK has partnered with more than 8000 brick-and-mortar stores to offer exclusive gifts, discounts and rewards this month. Also, vendors in the Po Tat Market will offer a “$1 Groceries” flash sale tomorrow.

Alipay is also working with partners across Southeast Asia to launch localised versions of the Double 12 event. In Thailand, for example, more than 10,000 merchants will be participating in the 1212 D-day Deals for TrueMoney users, while 3000 merchants will offer exclusive discounts on 1212 GCash Day in the Philippines.