China online lender raises US$220 million
> P2P player gets funds from group of investors led by Singapore’s GIC
HONG KONG: Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Dianrong said yesterday it raised US$220 million (RM941.6 million) from a group of investors led by Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Pte Ltd, looking to step up research of new technology as it expands across China and explores ventures in other countries in the region.
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.
The Shanghai-based firm would use the funds to automate some of its new branches across China, for research and development (R&D) and potential acquisitions, Soul Htite, co-chief executive of Dianrong, 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.
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 technologyfocused investment firm Tiger Global Management. It raised US$207 million in a previous fundraising round in 2015.
After launching its platform in 2012, Dianrong expanded into different services including supplychain financing using blockchain technology, as it looks to grow beyond the crowded market in China that has thousands of P2P players. The company in 2015 unveiled a joint venture with Seoul-based conglomerate Hanwha Group to offer marketplace lending and other financial technology services in South Korea.
It recently launched a partnership in Hong Kong to offer a marketplace for Asian investors to buy into US consumer loans, and in July Dianrong bought the asset origination business of Shanghaibased Quark Finance to increase the volume of loans in its platform.
The acquisition added 71 branches in 47 cities that will need to be automated and upgraded with Dianrong’s technology.
“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.
“We also want to keep capital on the side just in case another merger and acquisition opportunity appears.”
Dianrong was studying the markets in Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia and Cambodia for potential ventures, Htite said.
“There are places that we definitely are going 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 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.
“That decision is not dependent on Dianrong only. That decision is dependent on, if you’re talking about the Hong Kong exchange or New York exchange or A-shares, whoever makes it easier for us to list, we’re going to go with that.”