China’s ten most valuable fintech companies are worth a combined of nearly US$500 billion, according to a new report by Hurun Research Institute.
The research platform recently released its list of the country’s most valuable fintech companies ranked by market capitalization or valuation.
These companies mainly operate in the fields of wealth management, micro-finance and payments, among other sectors, and primarily operate under a business-to-consumer (B2C) model (eight out of the ten).
Ant Group – 2.1 trillion yuan (US$313 billion)
Ant Group, formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, is an affiliate company of the Chinese Alibaba Group and the world’s highest-valued fintech company.
The group owns China’s largest digital payment platform, Alipay, which serves over one billion users and 80 million merchants, with total payment volume transactions reaching 118 trillion yuan in June 2020.
In March 2019, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ant Group’s flagship Tianhong Yu’e Bao money-market fund was the largest in the world, with over 588 million users of Ant Group’s mobile payments network Alipay contributing, representing more than a third of China’s population.
In October 2020, Ant Group was set to raise US$34.5 billion in the world’s largest initial public offering (IPO) at the time, valuing the company at US$313 billion. On the eve of the IPO, China stopped the IPO from moving forward.
Ant Group is a third owned by Alibaba Group and controlled by founder Jack Ma.
Lufax – 270 billion yuan (US$40 billion)
Shanghai Lujiazui International Financial Asset Exchange, or simply Lufax, is an online Internet finance marketplace offering technology-driven retail credit and wealth management services. Headquartered in Lujiazui, Shanghai, the company is an associate of a holding conglomerate Ping An Group.
Founded in 2011, Lufax started as a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending service. By 2015, the firm had become China’s second-largest P2P lender and one of the largest Internet finance companies.
As of June 2020, Lufax had 44.7 million registered users and 12.8 million active investors on its platform. Lufax started trading on the New York Stock Exchange on October 30 and currently has a market capitalization of about US$40 billion.
East Money Information – 221.5 billion yuan (US$33 billion)
East Money Information is a Chinese financial and stock information website provider. The company is mainly engaged in the securities business, financial e-commerce service business, financial data service business, and Internet advertising service business.
East Money Information is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and has a market value of more than 200 billion yuan (US$29 billion). That puts it among the world’s biggest traded institutional brokers, making it more valuable than even Credit Suisse Group, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
JD Digits – 200 billion yuan (US$30 billion)
Established in 2013, Jingdong Digits Technology, or JD Digits, is the fintech unit of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com. JD Digits provides a range of financial services and products to consumers, startups, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other businesses in China.
Its business lines include supply chain finance, consumer finance, crowdfunding, asset management, payment solutions, insurance, and securities. In particular, the company offers a “one-stop” online investment and financing platform.
JD Digits is worth an estimated 200 billion yuan (US$30 billion). The company has filed a prospectus to list on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market.
WeBank – 200 billion yuan (US$30 billion)
WeBank is a Chinese digital bank founded by Tencent, Baiyeyuan, Liye Group, and other companies with the mission of providing “inclusive finance,” targeting unbanked and underbanked individuals and SMEs, while capitalizing on its technology advantages.
WeBank has no physical branches or outlets, and does not rely on property guarantees. Instead, it grants loans through face recognition technology and big data credit ratings.
In mid-May 2015, WeBank launched WeiLiDai, its “micro-loan” suite of inclusive financial loan products. Another product, WeiYeDai, debuted in 2017, intended to boost entrepreneurship in China. As of early 2019, WeBank was reportedly exploring options for expansion into Australia.
WeBank’s estimated valuation is approximately 200 billion yuan (US$30 billion). Tencent is the single largest shareholder, with an estimated 30% ownership share.
Hundsun Technologies – 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion)
Founded in 1995 in Hangzhou, Hundsun Technologies provides financial software and network service. Hundsun Technologies focuses on wealth and assets management, specializing in integrated solutions and services covering a variety of fields, including securities, futures, funds, banks, trust fund, insurances and financial management. It also offers wealth management tools to individual investors.
Hundsun Technologies is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of about 100 billion yuan (US$15 billion).
Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network – 80 billion yuan (US$12 billion)
Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network is a China-based company principally engaged in the provision of Internet financial information services. The company mainly provides financial information and data services, mobile financial information services, online market trading system services, fund sales services and other services to securities companies and mobile operators.
Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network was founded in 1995 and operates its business mainly in the domestic market. Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of about 80 billion yuan (US$12 billion).
Suning Finance – 56 billion yuan (US$8.4 billion)
Suning Finance is the financial services unit of Chinese electronics retailer Suning Commerce Group. The platform provides payment accounts, investment banking, consumer loans, corporate loans, insurance, crowdfunding, private equity financing and other financial services.
Suning Finance focuses on helping rural areas obtain financial support, providing loan support to farmers, cooperatives and young entrepreneurs.
Suning Finance is reportedly worth an estimated 56 billion yuan (US$8.4 billion).
ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance – 50 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion)
ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance is an online-only insurance company. The company provides insurance services include lifestyle consumption insurance, consumer finance insurance, health insurance, auto insurance and travel insurance.
ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance’s products include shipping return policy, online payment security insurance, account security insurance, phone accident policy, phone screen crack policy, Baobei Open Platform, Mashanghua, individual health insurance, group health insurance plans, flight accident and delay policy and among others.
ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2019. It has a market capitalization of about 50 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion)
OneConnect Financial Technology – 50 billion yuan (US$7.5 billion)
OneConnect Financial Technology, a unit of China’s Ping An Group, provides comprehensive end-to-end digital solutions for banks, insurers, and investment managers. The company enables customers to manage risks, enhance service quality, improve efficiency, increase revenue and reduce costs in their digital transformations.
As of December 31, 2019, OneConnect Financial Technology served 47 international customers in 14 markets. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has a market capitalization of about US$7.5 billion (50 billion yuan).
