Karun Thareja, Faircent's chief marketing officer, talks about the firm's business model and technology; the firm is one of the largest peer-to-peer consumer lenders in India and offers its investors annual returns ranging to 20%; it has built a comprehensive loan operating system with integrated client relationship management technology and lead generation channels; recently it has been focused on client acquisition through Facebook which it has integrated with its platform for customer communication. Source
P2P loan originations for Chinese online lender Dianrong more than doubled from 2015 to 2016; the platform reported 2016 originations of 16.2 billion yuan ($2.3 billion) and the firm plans to continue growing its market share as regulations help the success of established P2P lending firms in China; Dianrong's co-founder and co-CEO, Kevin Guo, talked with Reuters about the firm's growth and China's evolving market; says smaller firms will have difficulty staying in business and that Dianrong plans to grow significantly in the near-term with a new funding round and the goal to grow loan originations by 50% annually over the next three to five years. Source
Renren is a publicly traded company that operates a social networking platform and also has an investment unit that invests in private US fintech companies; Lend Academy previously wrote about Renren and their private market fintech holdings in January; Renren was one of SoFi's first investors reporting 21% ownership in the company at the end of 2015; it’s now been reported that Renren has sold a portion of its share in the company, in association with a SoFi fundraising, receiving net proceeds of $91.9 million. Source
Indian venture capitalist Unicorn India Ventures has invested in online lender SmartCoin; SmartCoin has developed a mobile lending app targeting Indian consumers with limited credit history; the platform offers unsecured loans of up to 50,000 rupees ($775). Source
Perfios is an Indian fintech startup that has developed software products that help digital lenders, banks and financial institutions to analyze client data; the software can help reduce application times for loans, credit cards and insurance policies; the firm's $6.1 million fundraising was provided by New York-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners. Source
Blockchain Capital has raised $10 million for the Blockchain Capital III Digital Liquid Venture Fund, LP which plans to invest in blockchain startups; the funds were raised through a digital shareholder token offering; Blockchain Capital says the tokens can be traded, offering enhanced liquidity for investors. Source
Crowdfund Insider reports on the launch of LendIt's PitchIt competition at Lang Di China in July; LendIt has partnered with JadeValue to support the competition and its finalists; applications are now open and the final competition will include eight finalists; the competition's finalists will be matched with mentors for business development and the winning startup will be given additional resources from JadeValue including coworking space, a $150,000 investment and technical tools. Source
Hong Kong's Legislative Council Panel on Financial Affairs published a document this week on their digital currency plans; The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), which acts as their central bank and financial regulator is working with banks and R3; according to the document: "The first phase of the research, which explores the feasibility of [central bank-issued digital currency] in performing domestic inter-bank payments, inter-corporate payment in the wholesale market and delivery versus payment (DvP) debt securities settlement, is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. Subject to the findings of the first phase, HKMA will map out the next steps." Source
Crowdfund Insider reports on regulatory developments in China's financial services sector; provides some additional insight on the CBRC's newly released document outlining ten high priority risks; according to Crowdfund Insider the chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC), Xian Junbo, has now been placed under investigation as the country seeks to regulate the financial services industry overall. Source
Yirendai is an online lending business unit of CreditEase with stock traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: YRD); the firm is one of the most successful online lenders in China's online lending market; Lend Academy talks with the firm's CEO Yihan Fang in their podcast; Yihan Fang provides details on Yirendai's platform and gives her insight on China's online lending market. Source