GIC leads US$220m funding round for P2P lender Dianrong

HONG KONG: Chinese peer-to-peer lending platform Dianrong has raised US$220mil from Singapore sovereign fund GIC Pte Ltd and other investors to fund research and development (R&D) in China and potential ventures elsewhere in Asia.

Other investors in the funding round included CMIG Leasing, a unit of China’s biggest private investment conglomerate China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG), and South Korean fund manager Simone Investment Managers, Dianrong said yesterday.

The Shanghai-based firm will use the funds to automate some of its new branches across China, for R&D and potential acquisitions, Dianrong’s co-chief executive Soul Htite told Reuters.

“Now we’ve graduated to another level, so people that know finance are also seeing us as someone that is really going to be part of the finance industry,” Htite said in an interview.

Hong Kong boutique investment bank AMTD Group acted as financial adviser to Dianrong.

The company, co-founded by Htite, who was also behind US online lender LendingClub Corp, already has big backers including the private equity arm of Standard Chartered and technology-focused investment firm Tiger Global Management.

“We’re going to increase our risk management capabilities and continue to automate. We’re also going to speed up some of the R&D projects,” Htite said. — Reuters

“We also want to keep capital on the side just in case another M&A opportunity appears.”

Dianrong was looking at Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia for potential ventures, Htite said.

“There are places that we definitely are going to go to, we just need to make sure that we stay on our core strategy, which is China,” Htite added.

”We’re in talks with partners in these countries already.” Dianrong has not decided on an initial public offering yet, but says Chinese people should be able to benefit from its growth whether it goes public overseas or lists A-shares in domestic markets.

“No decision has been made on the market, but Dianrong is a company that started in Shanghai, so why should it do an IPO in the US?” Htite said.