Displaying items by tag: china

In the late 20th century, Hong Kong became the undisputed financial center of the Far East. Tokyo might have had a larger stock exchange, but the city never saw itself as a global financial hub. It was Hong Kong that attracted large global banks, PE firms and hedge funds to establish regional headquarters.

Published in China Banking Research

China led global fintech funding in 2018 as its tech giants stepped up their bid for global expansion. Data from a new Accenture report show that China raised $25.5 billion of $55.3 billion in fintech funding last year. $14 billion of that cash came from the mammoth Ant Financial fundraising round that closed in June 2018.

Published in China Banking Research

U.S. President Donald Trump is at the core of the Sino-U.S. trade war, just like he was the company boss and host of the reality-TV series The Apprentice. Trump fired many a contestant on the show. His White House staff has seen its fair share of defections too. The trade war with China has the air of reality TV, like much of The Donald's presidency, with even more twists, turns and quips. Trump became famous on The Apprentice for telling contestants, "You're fired!" In the trade war (show), his one-liners are even better: "Trade wars are good and easy to win" and "I am a Tariff Man."

Published in China Banking Research

If at first you don't succeed in buying a money-transfer company, try again. Just make sure you go shopping in a friendly jurisdiction. That strategy paid off for the Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial as it acquired the UK's WorldFirst for $700 million in mid February.

Published in China Banking Research
February 15 2019

Wither China's P2P Lenders

Peer-to-peer lending in China is cratering amidst a heavy-handed government crackdown aimed at stamping out fraud in the once-booming online loan sector. Nationwide, authorities are tightening the screws on the $176 billion industry. By some analysts' estimates, the crackdown could wipe out up to 70% of China's P2P firms. Among the most recent major firms to call it quits is Shanghai-based Yidai, who kicked off 2019 by announcing it was exiting P2P lending. Its 32,000 lenders (with a principal balance of RMB 4 billion) would be repaid within five years, the company said.

Published in China Banking Research

Germany is pressing China to follow through on nearly two-decade-old promises to open its financial sector to foreign competition. In a January 18 dialogue in Beijing, the two countries vowed to open their respective markets wider to each other's banks and insurers. Reportedly, Beijing and Berlin signed three agreements: one between the two central banks, one regarding cooperation in securities and futures trading, and one to examine banking regulations together.

Published in China Banking Research

In 2018, Chinese banks lent a record $2.4 trillion in loans. That the credit spigot opened is no surprise: The banks had the full backing of Beijing, who looked on nervously as the Chinese economy limped - by its standards, anyway - to the finish line with just 6.5% annual growth, its worst performance since 1990. It wasn't so long ago that China could expect 9% annual growth.

Published in China Banking Research

Years ago, traditional POS machines only provided basic processing that were more convenient than cash transactions, but provided little help when it came to sales analysis. Smart POS started gaining traction in 2014 and grew rapidly as merchants juggled many different payment channels. A smart POS can process QR code, bank card, Quick Pass, as well as analyze business data, maintain membership details and combine online–offline sales. In December, UnionPay and Alipay both launched new acquiring products.

Double 11, the biggest e-commerce shopping festival, had another amazing result in 2018. On November 11th 2018, total online sales in China reached RMB314.2 billion (USD45.2 billion) in one single day.

At the end of 2017, regulations tightened around the cash loan industry in China and locked 36% as the highest APR lenders can collect on any loans. One year later, although many platforms have disappeared, others have transformed and are back at the forefront of lending in China.

Published in China Banking Research
Page 3 of 26