HONG KONG (July 4): Rakuten Group Inc has applied to list its banking arm on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, as the Japanese online retailer seeks to accelerate an expansion into fintech.

The listing of Rakuten Bank Ltd should help grow an ecosystem that already encompasses online commerce, payments and a mobile carrier, the parent said in a statement Monday.

Hiroshi Mikitani, the company’s chief executive officer and founder, has been expanding Rakuten’s businesses while facing competition from Amazon.com Inc in its core e-commerce operation. The US online retailer has invested heavily in Japan as one of its key overseas markets.