China, India deals lift Asian venture capital fintech financing to US$2.7b
Chinese online lender Tuandaiwang joins ranks of world’s 26 fintech unicorns – start-ups with a US$1 billion valuation
Mammoth deals in mainland China, Hong Kong and India lifted the total funding raised by venture capital-backed financial technology start-ups in Asia to US$2.7 billion across 67 transactions in the second quarter.
That was up from US$1.6 billion generated across 55 transactions in the same period last year, and marked the highest number of fintech deal activity in Asia for the past five quarters, according to a new report from venture capital research firm CB Insights.
“Asia saw a burst of fintech investment in the second quarter, putting total deals and funding back on pace to surpass 2016’s record at the current rate,” CB Insights said.
Overall funding raised by venture capital-backed fintech start-ups in Asia last year hit a record US$5.4 billion across 165 transactions, compared with US$4.8 billion over 162 transactions in 2015.
The region’s latest quarterly fintech tally surpassed the US$2 billion raised in North America and about US$500 million in Europe during the same period. The global total was US$5.2 billion over 251 deals.
