https://www.scmp.com/rss/324824/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com After five years of sleepless nights and stress following the government’s seizure of an online wealth platform, Stella Guo eventually received news from a local court that she would finally be able to recover some of her investment. Like millions of retail investors caught up in China’s rampant peer-to-peer (P2P) lending programmes – de facto online wealth management firms which have been plagued by fraud, defaults and even alleged Ponzi schemes – the Shenzhen-based public relations manager had... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3277769/scared-chinas-p2p-scandal-new-wave-young-investors-are-less-willing-risk-it-all?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3277769/scared-chinas-p2p-scandal-new-wave-young-investors-are-less-willing-risk-it-all?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Sep 2024 22:00:08 +0000 Matt Haldane,Xinmei Shen Matt Haldane,Xinmei Shen The CEO of Tether, the world’s largest stablecoin, is developing a new peer-to-peer technology that he hopes will further wrest financial control from big institutions, and the cryptocurrency giant he heads is pouring millions of dollars into it. Tether intends to invest tens of millions of dollars into a new peer-to-peer chat and video conferencing app called Keet to make it “one of three most known communication applications in the world”, Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether and co-founder of Keet... https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3257878/stablecoin-giant-tether-backing-unstoppable-chat-app-crypto-take-big-tech?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/blockchain/article/3257878/stablecoin-giant-tether-backing-unstoppable-chat-app-crypto-take-big-tech?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 04 Apr 2024 23:00:20 +0000 Zhou Shiping, the founder and chairman of Hongling Capital, one of China’s oldest peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, has been sentenced to life in prison for crimes including fundraising fraud, the High People’s Court of Guangdong province said on Thursday. The lower Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court of Guangdong province said Zhou also faces deprivation of political rights for committing fundraising fraud and illegally taking savings from the general public. All of his personal property will be... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3244243/zhou-shiping-founder-chinese-p2p-lender-hongling-capital-gets-life-sentence-crimes-including?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3244243/zhou-shiping-founder-chinese-p2p-lender-hongling-capital-gets-life-sentence-crimes-including?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Dec 2023 11:00:22 +0000 Tang Jun, previously one of the key faces of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in China, has been jailed for 20 years for illegal fundraising, after a three-year investigation into the sudden collapse of one of the largest P2P lending platforms in the country. Tang, who founded Tuandai.com, was sentenced to 20 years in jail and fined 51.5 million yuan (US$7.37 million) for illegal fundraising, according to a stock exchange filing released on Thursday by Paisheng Intelligent Technology, which owned the... https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3204436/founder-p2p-lender-tuandaicom-sentenced-20-years-jail-illegal-deposit-taking?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/big-tech/article/3204436/founder-p2p-lender-tuandaicom-sentenced-20-years-jail-illegal-deposit-taking?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Dec 2022 23:00:10 +0000 Chinese authorities say progress is being made in their efforts to clean up the financial irregularities created by privately run tech giants and other industrial capitalists, while doubling down on vows to ensure that funding is available to struggling private businesses amid rising costs and a broad economic slowdown. Guo Shuqing, party chief of the People’s Bank of China, pointed to promising “initial results” in the ongoing clampdown on tech giants, in an interview that Communist Party... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3153046/chinas-tech-crackdown-will-see-more-substantial-progress?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3153046/chinas-tech-crackdown-will-see-more-substantial-progress?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Oct 2021 13:00:19 +0000 If there is one lesson to be learned from the rise and fall of real estate developer Evergrande, it is this: China favours big business. The bigger your business, the easier it is to get lots of financing and other privileges. It has emerged that, as of June, some 171 banks as well as dozens of other lenders involved in “wealth management products” have had a total exposure to Evergrande of US$313 billion. HNA Group, China Fortune Land and many others all took a lucrative ride on this big... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3151564/evergrande-crisis-doesnt-spell-end-beijings-support-big-business?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3151564/evergrande-crisis-doesnt-spell-end-beijings-support-big-business?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 10 Oct 2021 01:45:16 +0000 He Xin, the son-in-law of Phoenix Media Investment Holdings Limited’s founder Liu Changle, has been detained by Chinese police in Hainan province for his role in a collapsed peer-to-peer lending platform. He, the controlling shareholder of Phoenix Zhixin Information Technology (Haikou) was detained, as he was suspected of illegally accepting deposits from the public, according to a May 5 announcement by the Hainan provincial capital’s police, which identified him only by his surname. He, who... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3132460/haikou-police-detain-son-law-phoenix-medias-founder-liu-changle?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3132460/haikou-police-detain-son-law-phoenix-medias-founder-liu-changle?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 06 May 2021 07:12:09 +0000 This is the first of a five-part series looking at China’s fintech industry in the wake of regulators’ decision to suspend the initial public offering of Ant Group, which was widely expected to be the world’s biggest capital raising. Late at night on Monday November 2, a blog appeared in the official Sina.com account of the Chinese government’s mouthpiece news agency Xinhua, hours after regulators summoned executives of the world’s largest fintech company to tell them that the rules governing... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3110472/chinas-regulators-put-fence-around-risks-technologys?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3110472/chinas-regulators-put-fence-around-risks-technologys?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 19 Nov 2020 23:00:24 +0000 An exporting company owner in his 40s in the eastern province of Zhejiang, a public relations manager in her 20s in the southern city of Shenzhen and retired state-owned enterprise executive in eastern-central coastal province of Jiangsu would normally share little in common as they blend into China’s 1.4 billion population. Like many, they did share a common and unsurprising goal of seeking a return on their investments. But unfortunately it is the fact that they have joined the ranks of... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3106275/chinas-p2p-financial-refugees-face-never-ending-wait-recover?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3106275/chinas-p2p-financial-refugees-face-never-ending-wait-recover?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 20 Oct 2020 22:00:13 +0000 Last week, while China watchers were preoccupied with Covid-19 and US-China tensions, Shenzhen authorities released guidelines for consumer bankruptcy. While details are not yet available, the guidelines confirm that pressure is mounting on the government to do something for the tens of millions of highly indebted consumers. A week earlier, China’s Supreme Court lowered the interest rate ceiling on all non-bank credit, from 24 per cent per annum to 15.4 per cent, to the despair of many lenders.... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3099761/why-chinas-subprime-credit-crisis-would-benefit-debt-amnesty?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3099761/why-chinas-subprime-credit-crisis-would-benefit-debt-amnesty?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Sep 2020 19:30:08 +0000 China’s defunct peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders still owe depositors 800 billion yuan (US$115 billion) four years after a crackdown to clean up the sector, but the mainland’s top regulator said he will do his best to help victims recover their funds in a segment where only a few operators remain. “We’ll assist public security authorities to track down the money even if there is only a glimmer of hope,” Guo Shuqing, chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC), told... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3097445/chinas-top-banking-regulator-vows-track-down-errant-p2p?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3097445/chinas-top-banking-regulator-vows-track-down-errant-p2p?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Aug 2020 13:00:13 +0000 China’s scandal-hit peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sector is once again in the spotlight. This time authorities are investigating Weidai (Hangzhou) Financial Information Service, Hangzhou’s largest online microloans provider, for alleged illegal fundraising activities. “The public security authorities will start checking and exerting control over the relevant assets and manage the process of stolen funds retrieval and loss limitation,” according to a statement released late on Saturday by the city’s... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3091893/another-scandal-brews-chinas-p2p-lending-sector-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3091893/another-scandal-brews-chinas-p2p-lending-sector-authorities?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Jul 2020 11:29:21 +0000 The spring started out rosy for the Indian arm of ClearScore, a company that offers online credit scores and loans. Within weeks, the coronavirus pandemic had taken hold, drastically changing the picture for the online lending industry in Asia. “In the second week of March, we were talking about what a great quarter it would be and a month later I had to let go of the team,” said Hrushikesh Mehta, country manager for India at ClearScore. P2P: China’s once-booming lending industry must close... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3087312/how-coronavirus-pandemic-has-derailed-asias-booming-online?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3087312/how-coronavirus-pandemic-has-derailed-asias-booming-online?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Jun 2020 03:45:06 +0000 This article originally appeared on ABACUS Imagine this: You sign up for a cloud storage service thinking you’ll only be using the company’s servers. But then without asking, your provider not only takes up your computer’s storage space, but also uses your internet bandwidth to distribute files. This is what recently happened to users of Baidu Cloud, or Baidu Wangpan, when users were enrolled in a new incentive program by default. Users say they were offered award points in exchange for the use... https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3080901/baidu-apologizes-after-having-cloud-users-share-their-internet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/abacus/tech/article/3080901/baidu-apologizes-after-having-cloud-users-share-their-internet?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2020 10:15:44 +0000 Imagine this: You sign up for a cloud storage service thinking you’ll only be using the company’s servers. But then without asking, your provider not only takes up your computer’s storage space, but also uses your internet bandwidth to distribute files. This is what recently happened to users of Baidu Cloud, or Baidu Wangpan, when users were enrolled in a new incentive program by default. Users say they were offered award points in exchange for the use of up to 1MB/s of their internet upload... https://www.scmp.com/tech/baidu-apologizes-after-having-cloud-users-share-their-internet-bandwidth-default/article/3080843?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/baidu-apologizes-after-having-cloud-users-share-their-internet-bandwidth-default/article/3080843?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 21 Apr 2020 10:15:43 +0000 It is a cliché that Chinese consumers are frugal and that they maintain a high savings ratio because of a lack of a social safety net. While that may still be true, it is becoming less so each year. Indeed, Chinese consumers are facing a real stress test in the wake of a sluggish economy, a trade war with the US and the coronavirus pandemic. As recently as the 1980s, consumer credit was unheard of in China. But it has surged to make up 36 per cent of total assets of a banking sector that has... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3076660/trade-war-and-coronavirus-will-bring-chinas-quietly-raging-consumer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3076660/trade-war-and-coronavirus-will-bring-chinas-quietly-raging-consumer?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Mar 2020 17:00:07 +0000 China’s banking regulator is considering setting up new regional bad-debt managers to help clean up risks after the failure of thousands of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Companies in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Shenzhen have submitted applications to set up local asset managers dealing with bad loans, especially those from online lending platforms, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. The China Banking and... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3052096/china-weighs-setting-bad-debt-managers-failed-p2p-lenders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3052096/china-weighs-setting-bad-debt-managers-failed-p2p-lenders?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Feb 2020 08:16:35 +0000 China's peer-to-peer lending market looks for further disruption this year with more platforms likely to be shut down as regulators attempt to rein in the scandal-plagued sector despite huge demand for credit from small businesses and individuals. The peer-to-peer (P2P) industry has emerged as a valuable source of credit for vulnerable consumers and businesses that cannot access loans through the traditional banking system, although the internet-based lending platforms still only make up a small... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3045006/chinas-scandal-plagued-p2p-sector-faces-continued-pressure-2020-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3045006/chinas-scandal-plagued-p2p-sector-faces-continued-pressure-2020-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Jan 2020 08:30:32 +0000 The collapse of China’s peer-to-peer platforms, once touted as a model to reshape the nation’s financial landscape, has left millions of victims in financial ruin and despair. Among them is Bao Jiaqi, a former state glassware company worker in Shanghai who deposited 300,000 yuan (US$42,900) in 2016 with a platform managed by Xinming Finance. The 71-year-old retiree has spent the last two years chasing the now-defunct company and its executives for her money back, in vain, after the online lender... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3043836/71-year-old-victim-shows-tales-greed-chinas-us30-billion-peer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3043836/71-year-old-victim-shows-tales-greed-chinas-us30-billion-peer?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 30 Dec 2019 00:00:10 +0000 China’s Hebei province has shut down all peer-to-peer lending platforms, underlining the latest effort by regulators to clean up the industry rife with fraud and mismanagement. None of the 35 platforms in the region that had applied for administrative checks to continue their business met the relevant regulations, the Hebei government said in a statement on its official website on Friday. P2P companies that were not subjected to the check will be deemed as conducting illegal businesses and be... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3042052/chinas-hebei-province-imposes-total-ban-p2p-platforms?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3042052/chinas-hebei-province-imposes-total-ban-p2p-platforms?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Dec 2019 13:30:14 +0000 All existing peer-to-peer lending platforms in China must become small loan providers within two years, a notice seen by Reuters on Wednesday showed, the latest official edict aimed at curbing the once-booming industry. All Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lending firms need to clear outstanding loans in less than one year before switching to small loans, according to a notice issued by China’s Internet Financial Risk Special Rectification Work Leadership Team Office, which was launched by Beijing to... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3039715/p2p-chinas-once-booming-lending-industry-must-close-within?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3039715/p2p-chinas-once-booming-lending-industry-must-close-within?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 28 Nov 2019 04:55:47 +0000 The inability of Chinese financial regulation to contain financial excesses has put off many foreign investors who would otherwise want to put their money into the country, analysts said. The key problem is that Beijing has not yet found a way to meet the large demand by small private sector businesses, investors and entrepreneurs for credit through legal and regulatory compatible financing channels, analysts say. Until it does, it will continue to contend with a series of quasi-legal and highly... https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3036608/china-regulatory-failure-contain-financial-excesses-putting-some-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/article/3036608/china-regulatory-failure-contain-financial-excesses-putting-some-foreign?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 06 Nov 2019 13:30:05 +0000 China has been warned to avoid the same mistakes with blockchain that it made with its peer-to-peer lending, as the government vowed a “thorough revamping” of the controversial lending platforms as part of a continuing battle against financial risk amid the domestic economic slowdown and the trade war with the United States. A specially designated task force is in the process of working towards eliminating risks associated with peer-to-peer online lending platforms, the official Xinhua News... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3036268/chinas-blockchain-development-should-learn-p2p-lending?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3036268/chinas-blockchain-development-should-learn-p2p-lending?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 04 Nov 2019 22:45:13 +0000 The regulator in China’s financial centre has ordered Shanghai’s more than 40 peer-to-peer lenders to exit the business, people familiar with the matter said, the latest blow to an online industry that’s shrunk by half this year. Some of the nation’s biggest platforms including Ping An-backed Lufax and Dianrong.com have been told in recent meetings with Shanghai’s financial services bureau to stop issuing new products and to wind down existing peer-to-peer lending services, the people said,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3035666/china-orders-more-40-peer-peer-lenders-shanghai-shut-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3035666/china-orders-more-40-peer-peer-lenders-shanghai-shut-overhaul?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 31 Oct 2019 02:54:29 +0000 The Chinese government has issued a new ruling, effective from Monday, that makes lending at annualised interest rates above 36 per cent a criminal offence, a move that will deal a heavy blow to the country’s wild underground banking sector where interest rates of that magnitude or higher are not unusual. A person or entity that lends money to more than 10 borrowers within two years for profit at an annualised interest rate of more than 36 per cent would face criminal charges for conducting... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3034050/china-criminalises-loans-annual-interest-rates-above-36pc?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3034050/china-criminalises-loans-annual-interest-rates-above-36pc?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Oct 2019 10:00:09 +0000 Chinese fintech firm 51 Credit Card is being investigated by police for employing underhand tactics to chase delinquent borrowers, showing resolve by authorities to clean up the peer-to-peer lending industry. The Hong Kong-listed company, which operates a credit card management app that matches borrowers and lenders for small loans, hired external debt collectors who pretended as government officials to threaten borrowers, police said in a statement on its Weibo social media site late... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3033990/china-investigates-fintech-firm-51-credit-card-harassing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3033990/china-investigates-fintech-firm-51-credit-card-harassing?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 22 Oct 2019 05:19:57 +0000 China’s central Hunan province will ban all peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders, a local financial regulator said on Wednesday, in the most radical action taken by a provincial government against the industry notorious for frauds and defaults. None of the 24 local P2P lending platform operators investigated by authorities complied with regulations, the Hunan Provincial Local Financial Supervision Administration said in a statement. The lenders will be banned from conducting any new business, along with... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3033378/chinas-hunan-province-imposes-total-ban-p2p-lenders-after?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/3033378/chinas-hunan-province-imposes-total-ban-p2p-lenders-after?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Oct 2019 09:15:07 +0000 Zendai Group, a closely held private investment company in Shanghai, abruptly shut down two peer-to-peer lending units valued at 10 billion yuan (US$1.4 billion), as Chinese financial regulators ratchet up measures to clean an industry fraught with frauds and defaults. One platform run by Zendai’s wealth management arm suspended lending and laid off its staff on Monday, citing the government crackdown, according to an internal company email that was leaked online. Another internal email said... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3022590/shanghai-based-zendai-closes-two-p2p-units-worth-us14?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3022590/shanghai-based-zendai-closes-two-p2p-units-worth-us14?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Aug 2019 08:46:56 +0000 Ping An Insurance-backed Lufax, one of China’s largest financial technology companies, said on Thursday it was scaling down its peer-to-peer (P2P) lending business, but denied reports it was exiting the sector altogether. The company, also known as Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange, said: “We are making three cuts in line with regulators’ requirements. The existing P2P products and customers will not be affected.” Lufax was referring to required cuts in outstanding P2P... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3019207/chinese-fintech-giant-lufax-cuts-p2p-lending-meet-regulatory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3019207/chinese-fintech-giant-lufax-cuts-p2p-lending-meet-regulatory?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Jul 2019 13:29:49 +0000 China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry, which has shrunk dramatically under a government crackdown, should get a welcome boost from the development of the Greater Bay Area, according to DBS Bank. By 2030, P2P lending will enjoy an annual growth rate of 17 per cent in the new economic and innovation hub, making it the fourth-fastest growing sector there, the Singaporean bank estimated. In P2P lending, internet-based platforms match private investors with individuals or small companies that... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3011175/chinas-beleaguered-peer-peer-lending-market-will-get-boost?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3011175/chinas-beleaguered-peer-peer-lending-market-will-get-boost?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 May 2019 01:00:12 +0000 Shanghai-based asset management group PGA Venture Partners has suspended operations after failing to repay investors 6.6 billion yuan (US$967 million), the latest sign that the mainland’s finance sector is plagued by scams and frauds. No employees showed up at the company’s office in Jiangchang Road, Jingan district, on Thursday. The Post could not reach the company or its officials by phone. The company, also known as Yung Park Capital, said in a statement posted on the website that media... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3009606/yet-another-scam-chinas-fund-management-sector-leaves-investors?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3009606/yet-another-scam-chinas-fund-management-sector-leaves-investors?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 May 2019 02:00:25 +0000 Owners and senior executives of peer-to-peer lending platforms in the Chaoyang district of Beijing appear to have been asked not to leave China’s capital city pending an investigation into their business practices, according to the district’s Internet Finance Association. The notice, published on the association’s official social media account on Thursday, requires “senior managers” and controllers of peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms registered in Chaoyang district not to leave Beijing without... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3007688/beijings-p2p-owners-and-senior-executives-hit-travel-ban?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3007688/beijings-p2p-owners-and-senior-executives-hit-travel-ban?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 25 Apr 2019 12:15:04 +0000 Racked by scandal, high-profile collapses and high-profile company exits, the world’s largest peer-to-peer lending market could soon face a second reckoning, as Beijing prepares to adopt stricter licensing requirements. China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) industry, much like payday lenders in the United States, has provided a valuable lifeline for some of the country’s most vulnerable consumers and small businesses that have had trouble accessing the traditional banking system, although it only accounts... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3006170/chinas-p2p-lending-market-could-be-decimated-year-amid?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3006170/chinas-p2p-lending-market-could-be-decimated-year-amid?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 15 Apr 2019 05:15:09 +0000 Chinese police have investigated more than 380 peer-to-peer (P2P) platforms on suspicion of illegal fundraising and frozen assets worth 10 billion yuan (US$1.5 billion), following the dramatic implosion of the once-booming shadow banking sector. China’s Ministry of Public Security said it had arrested 62 suspects who were operators of fraudulent P2P platforms from 16 foreign countries including Thailand and Cambodia, the state-run news agency Xinhua reported on Sunday. This was a rare public... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2186608/china-crackdown-fraudulent-p2p-platforms-results-62-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2186608/china-crackdown-fraudulent-p2p-platforms-results-62-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 18 Feb 2019 05:55:35 +0000 Chinese police investigated more than 10,000 cases of illegal fundraising last year, a 22 per cent rise in the caseload, according to China’s top prosecutors. The total amount involved also rose, more than doubling to about 300 billion yuan (US$44.5 billion), the Supreme People’s Procuratorate said on Wednesday. Apart from traditional hotbeds such as product marketing, real estate investment, and education, there has been a big rise in fundraising schemes in online lending, wealth management,... https://www.scmp.com/news/article/2184372/china-grapples-surge-illegal-fundraising-online-lenders-bend-rules?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/2184372/china-grapples-surge-illegal-fundraising-online-lenders-bend-rules?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Jan 2019 23:01:57 +0000 Mainland China’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending crisis showed no signs of abating after another big platform said it would not be able to repay investors 860 million yuan (US$125.4 million) when the debts expire this weekend. Xinhehui, a Hangzhou-based P2P operator which has conducted online lending businesses worth more than 210 billion yuan, has vowed to work out a new restructuring plan to resolve the issue, but thousands of affected investors were unconvinced and disappointed with how the... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2180731/chinas-p2p-lending-crisis-worsens-second-firm-runs-trouble?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2180731/chinas-p2p-lending-crisis-worsens-second-firm-runs-trouble?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Jan 2019 10:20:24 +0000 The number of Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders may fall by 70 per cent this year, as the nation intensifies its crackdown on riskier financing. As few as 300 companies will remain by the end of the year, according to an estimate from Shanghai-based research firm Yingcan Group. The number of operators dropped by more than 50 per cent to 1,021 in 2018 from a year earlier, Yingcan said, adding that there’s been no new entrants into the market since August. Why China’s online lending crisis makes... https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/2180390/chinas-online-lending-crackdown-may-see-70pc-businesses-close?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/2180390/chinas-online-lending-crackdown-may-see-70pc-businesses-close?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 02 Jan 2019 08:03:47 +0000 How big is China’s fintech sector? I would say, Britain’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Funding Circle plus payday lender Wonga times 100. In addition to giants such as Alibaba’s Ant Financial, Pingan’s Lufax and Tencent’s WeBank, a dozen mid-size operators have gone public in the US and Hong Kong in the past 18 months alone. There are also 40 to 50 serious players that are waiting in the wings to go public. However, as the year-long official clampdown has revealed, there are far too many also-ran... https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2172983/why-chinas-online-lending-crisis-makes?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/united-states/article/2172983/why-chinas-online-lending-crisis-makes?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 14 Nov 2018 03:15:30 +0000 China Cinda Asset Management, one of the country’s four biggest state-owned bad debt managers, said on Thursday it would “proactively” help the government tackle peer-to-peer (P2P) lending risks, after confirming China’s top financial regulator had recently met the big four asset management companies on the issue following several protests in the past few weeks by investors who had lost money on collapsed P2P platforms. P2P risks are a social issue of great concern in China Chen Yanqing,... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2162023/bad-debt-manager-china-cinda-help-top-regulator-tackle-peer-peer?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2162023/bad-debt-manager-china-cinda-help-top-regulator-tackle-peer-peer?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 30 Aug 2018 09:35:10 +0000 China has started a new round of checks on thousands of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending sites, according to a document obtained by Bloomberg News, as authorities continue their efforts to clean up the industry. Regulators are trying to steadily resolve risks by guiding some firms to exit the business, according to the August 13 document issued by the Internet Lending Financial Risk Management Working Leadership Group and co-signed by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. The checks,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2160501/china-said-start-fresh-round-checks-p2p-lenders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/enterprises/article/2160501/china-said-start-fresh-round-checks-p2p-lenders?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Aug 2018 08:53:26 +0000 China’s financial regulator will expand the business scope of the country’s distressed-asset managers, enlisting their help to bail out a corner of the financial system that is in danger of collapsing. During a Wednesday meeting in Beijing, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission asked four managers of distressed assets – Huarong, Cinda, Great Wall and Orient – to extend their mandate to non-performing loans owed by peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, according to a source... https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2160085/chinas-regulator-orders-bailout-peer-peer-lenders-managers?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/china-business/article/2160085/chinas-regulator-orders-bailout-peer-peer-lenders-managers?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Aug 2018 00:02:27 +0000 Thousands of disgruntled Chinese investors who have lost their life savings in the country’s peer-to-peer lending industry mounted a failed attempt to protest in Beijing’s financial district on Monday. Promising easy cash for borrowers and high returns for lenders, China’s peer-to-peer lending platforms had once thrived and helped power the country’s breakneck growth. But China’s curb on financial risk has shaken up the industry, causing online lenders to collapse like dominoes amid tighter... https://www.scmp.com/society/investors-call-investigation-chinas-peer-peer-lending-industry/article/2158650?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/society/investors-call-investigation-chinas-peer-peer-lending-industry/article/2158650?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Aug 2018 09:45:15 +0000 An unknown number of Chinese investors who have lost their life savings in the country’s peer-to-peer (P2P) lending industry mounted a failed attempt at a demonstration before the banking regulator on Monday, amid heavy intervention by the police in Beijing’s financial district. Hundreds of uniformed police, ancillary police and plain clothes officers patrolled several city blocks around Finance Street, where the central bank, as well as the regulators for stocks, banks and insurers are... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2158533/police-thwart-protest-rallies-victims-chinas-underground?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2158533/police-thwart-protest-rallies-victims-chinas-underground?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Aug 2018 14:15:47 +0000 Tang Ning has been feeling the heat lately in his role as head of the association that represents peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders in Beijing after a wave of platform defaults plunged the industry into crisis. While he cautions investors to exercise better judgment to avoid fraudulent platforms, Tang insists that P2P is a solid investment method with a proven track record in China and overseas for more than a decade. The reputable P2P platforms focus on diversified investments to safeguard returns,... https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2156832/chinese-peer-peer-pioneer-defends-industry-after-wave-defaults?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/tech/china-tech/article/2156832/chinese-peer-peer-pioneer-defends-industry-after-wave-defaults?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 25 Jul 2018 23:00:00 +0000 Gao Bin lost his family’s life savings when Chinese online micro lending platform Tangxiaoseng collapsed in June. The 43-year-old auditing director and his wife had invested 860,000 yuan (US$129,000) in the peer-to-peer lender, only to discover on June 18 he could not withdraw his investment. He later found out the company had been placed under investigation two days ago for “illegally absorbing public deposits”. Tangxiaoseng, which in theory matches investors with borrowers of small loans, had... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2155357/investors-left-rue-losses-fraudulent-chinese-p2p-lenders-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2155357/investors-left-rue-losses-fraudulent-chinese-p2p-lenders-collapse?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jul 2018 00:03:40 +0000 When Stephen Liu Sai-wang set up online consumer finance firm VCredit a dozen years ago, he wondered whether his “follow the rules” Hong Kong approach to business would allow him to prosper in mainland China’s breakneck, anything-goes environment for start-ups. Now, in the face of ever tighter regulations as Beijing moves to rein in what it sees as risky financial lending, and after the collapse of thousands of online finance ventures, he sees the merits of playing it by the book. “I know it’s a... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2150111/how-going-book-helped-hong-kong-start-vcredit-weather-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2150111/how-going-book-helped-hong-kong-start-vcredit-weather-chinas?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Jun 2018 00:03:01 +0000 By any measure, 62-year-old Shan Juzhen was an easy mark. After the shortest of conversations with other investors, Shan put more than US$15,000 – or nearly a year of her pension – into a lending club she had never heard of. She felt it unnecessary to check the qualifications of the lending club, which serves as an alternative for borrowers who cannot get a loan from a big bank. She also did not ask questions about how her money would be lent. The only thing Shan wanted to know was would the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2125657/easiest-way-lose-your-lifes-savings-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/article/2125657/easiest-way-lose-your-lifes-savings-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 27 Dec 2017 01:00:45 +0000 At least half of mainland China’s online lending platforms are likely to shut down by the middle of next year when a regulatory crackdown on the once booming industry is set to wrap up, industry experts told a forum in Shanghai on Sunday. Online lending has flourished in recent years in China as a way to provide credit to those who were underserved by the traditional banks. Its rapid growth, however, brought a spate of high-profile scams, prompting a regulatory crackdown that began last... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2124670/least-half-chinas-online-lending-platforms-could-close-regulatory?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2124670/least-half-chinas-online-lending-platforms-could-close-regulatory?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 17 Dec 2017 10:18:51 +0000 China on Friday issued new rules to clean up its controversial cash loan and online micro lending market, including prohibiting lending to people without an income and putting a curb on the total charges on runaway credit, according to an official notice seen by the South China Morning Post. The notice was jointly issued by the People’s Bank of China and the China Banking Regulatory Commission – the central bank and banking watchdog – to crack down on risks in the nation’s internet financing and... https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2122540/china-issues-new-rules-clean-runaway-cash-loan-market?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/2122540/china-issues-new-rules-clean-runaway-cash-loan-market?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 01 Dec 2017 23:17:03 +0000 China’s central bank has issued its harshest set of restrictions yet to rein in the country’s online microlending businesses, putting on a tight leash an industry that was feeding off young borrowers living beyond their means. Effective immediately, the People’s Bank of China and its regional branches must stop licensing any new online microloan lenders, while offline bricks-and-mortar lenders must be constrained to operating within their registered locations, according to the order, a copy of... https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2120972/chinas-central-bank-issues-orders-rein-peer-peer-lenders?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/2120972/chinas-central-bank-issues-orders-rein-peer-peer-lenders?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Nov 2017 00:00:45 +0000