Global fintech deals declined 4 per cent in 2019 as China investments fell sharply, report says
- US remains top fundraising capital for fintech investments, with US$26.1 billion in fundraising in 2019
- Fintech investments in China totalled US$1.9 billion last year vs US$25.5 billion in 2018, Accenture says
Investments in global fintech firms fell 3.7 per cent in 2019, hurt by a sharp decline in deal activity in China in 2019 against the backdrop of a bruising trade war between Washington and Beijing, according to a new report by the consulting firm Accenture.
Despite the steep fall-off in activity by Chinese companies, there were 3,472 deals worth US$53.3 billion globally last year, the second-highest value of investments since 2013, Accenture said. That compared with 3,251 investments worth a record-high US$55.3 billion in 2018.
Deal activity was marked in 2018 by Ant Financial Services, the operator of Alipay and an affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding, raising US$14 billion in the largest fintech investment that year. Excluding the Ant Financial deal, global fintech investments would have increased 29 per cent last year, according to Accenture. Alibaba is the parent company of the South China Morning Post.
“Despite strong demand for fintech globally, it’s likely that, as start-ups become more mature, investments will flow to fast-growing economies, where there’s still a huge, unaddressed consumer and corporate market thirsty for innovations,” said Julian Skan, a senior managing director in Accenture’s Financial Services practice.
Accenture used data from CB Insights, a global venture finance data and analytics firm, for its analysis.