Currently the most valuable fintech company in China, Alibaba’s Ant Financial owns a myriad of businesses: China’s largest payment tool AliPay and a variety of financial services in areas like banking, funds, insurance, credit scoring systems, etc. With over 400 million active users, it has ambitions to expand further into the Chinese hinterland as well as into global markets—something never done by Chinese financial companies before. How will Ant realize its elephantine goals? What is the logic behind its diverse businesses and which one is the focus? Can Ant become the Taobao of the financial industry? We offer some answers.
Carl Walter on the fragility in the Chinese banking system
Carl Walter, former COO of JP Morgan in China and CEO of its China banking subsidiary, paints a gloomy picture of the Chinese banking system and outlines the possible risks involved. In the aftermath of 2008’s global financial meltdown, China’s financial system seemed to have emerged unscathed. The country’s economic configuration, often dubbed “Capitalism with Chinese characteristics” by Chinese […]
Internet Finance in China: Will it Disrupt Traditional Banking?
As consumers drift towards easy-to-use internet finance in China, what will happen to traditional banks? Like many businesses the world over, investment in China has gone mobile. Just ask Yang Ren Jun, a 26-year-old translator and interpreter in Shanghai. Yang initially invested RMB 3,000 in a new online investment service called Yu’e Bao (meaning “leftover treasure” in […]
Regulating internet finance in China
Chen Long, Professor of Finance at CKGSB, believes that the authorities have to tread a fine line while regulating internet finance products in China such as Alibaba’s Yu’e Bao and Tencent’s Li Cai Tong. Here’s why. China’s most dominant online payment system is going through “the toughest, yet the most honorable moment”, says Jack Ma, President of […]
Internet finance in China: Risk-free Returns?
Internet finance in China is taking off and deposits in online funds such as Alibaba’s Yu’e Bao are swelling. What are the risks that investors should watch out for? Current and would-be investors in China’s tech sector titans are advised to take a closer look at the mechanics propelling the stellar growth of their online fund offerings. […]
China Roundup: LinkedIn Checks into China; Weibo to List on the NASDAQ; and the Renminbi Slides Further
The week that was: LinkedIn enters China with an innovative model; Sina Weibo plans US listing; the Chinese renminbi depreciates; and banks fight back against internet finance channels. LinkedIn Connects with China Six months ago people were curious why LinkedIn isn’t blocked in China, like Twitter, Facebook and many other networking sites are. Well, […]
China Roundup: Google and Foxconn Partner; Lenovo profits up; and Internet Finance under the Scanner
The week that was: the People’s Bank of China weighs in on internet finance; Chinese trust firms have slower growth; and Google and Foxconn partner for robotics. Beijing considers regulating internet finance Chinese internet companies are crowding into finance, and the authorities are taking notice. On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that China’s central […]
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