The China Banking Regulatory Commission has released new rules on disclosure requirements for online lenders; new rules additionally require online lenders to disclose the information of "compensation", which is the money that third parties pay for the loans that cannot be paid back by borrowers; stricter rules in terms of information disclosure will help investors to know the operational conditions of online lenders better. Source (Chinese)
The Asian Banker has awarded CreditEase Wealth Management with its first Best Non-Bank Private Wealth Product award; the award was part of the Asian Banker's awards program which has been recognizing financial services companies for 16 years; voting was done by an advisory board using detailed criteria to identify the non-bank with the best solutions for meeting the needs of high net worth customers by matching their risk profiles and investment objectives; CreditEase's CEO Ning Tang said its wealth planners focus on cross-border, cross-regional portfolios with multi-asset classes for clients and that its Toumi RA robo advisor service was created to help clients evaluate and minimize risks with a scientific portfolio. Source
Marketplace lending originations have been increasing significantly in the US and China however in 2016 both countries saw a number of challenges influencing the market and increasing risk; Moody's analyzes market similarities and differences in the two countries; reports on the variance in lending model structuring; notes that US marketplace lenders are more deeply integrated with partner-bank relationships; while structuring and partnerships vary considerably between the two countries, there are similarities, including reliance on big data, lack of credit cycle testing and ongoing development of regulatory standards. Source
The People's Bank of China is reportedly ramping up efforts to create a digital currency that would coincide with their paper currency; the currency released by the People's Bank of China will be legal currency and make use of special encrypted technology; there has been an effort within the central bank to create a digital currency since 2014; problems related to the right technology and deployment of the currency have persisted. Source
New regulations slowed the growth of P2P lending in China in 2016; data from P2P001 reports that transaction volume in P2P lending increased by 138% in 2016 to over 2.8 trillion yuan ($403 billion) however that was only half of the transaction volume growth reported in 2014 and 2015; on August 24, 2016 the government issued new requirements for the industry, one of which requires that lenders partner with banks for custodian services; this adds additional costs for lenders and as of the end of 2016 only 7.98% had partnered with a custodian bank. Source
Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and Tencent are leading e-commerce market growth, seeking to do everything from cloud computing to digital payments; the Chinese market infrastructure is also helping their business growth and their business models are rivaling comparative US companies; Jack Ma's Alibaba is expanding rapidly in the global markets with partnerships and acquisitions and Tencent is following closely with numerous acquisitions as well; investment bank Goldman Sachs estimates China's online retail market to double in size by 2020 to $1.7 trillion and aggressive market expansion from Alibaba and Tencent appears to be successfully supporting that estimate. Source
Vanguard venture with Ant Group lures 200,000 Chinese clients Moneybox bags £30m Series C as it reaches £1bn in assets...
Southeast Asia’s largest bank, DBS Bank, has been one of the most innovative and profitable; while presenting at a Credit Suisse investment conference DBS CFO Chng Sok Hui said they could raise the return on equity to 14.5 percent; the digital customers are three times as valuable to the bottom line of the bank; DBS has implemented chatbots and other innovative technologies to improve the digital experience for a customer who is increasingly using their phones to bank. Source.
In guidelines released on its website, China said it would restrict overseas investment in sectors such as property, hotels, cinema, entertainment and sports teams; the announcement comes as Beijing is supporting overseas technology and initiatives such as the massive global infrastructure investment plan One Belt, One Road; specific industries under close watch include Hollywood entertainment, the hotel industry and foreign insurance investments; overall, the efforts from the Chinese government are another step in reigning in foreign investment and supporting economic development. Source
Alibaba payment affiliate Ant Financial has announced the acquisition of helloPay; the company is based in Singapore and will help support Alipay's strategic growth initiatives in Southeast Asia; its primary payments focus is on serving e-commerce platforms; helloPay will be rebranded as Alipay following the acquisition. Source