LexinFintech Holdings operates Fenqile, a leading online lender in China, and is now rethinking their IPO plans; LexinFintech is attempting to raise $500mn through their IPO but concerns about regulators in China have made the company have second thoughts; the company is planning to come to a decision soon on whether or not to plan their roadshow ahead of the IPO. Source.
Payments startup Marqeta is looking to hire investment banks to advise the company on a potential IPO; the company has...
UK based Arrowgrass will offer investors fintech exposure through a new vehicle listed on the AIM Market; the $97mn IPO named TruFin, is the first time investors will have access to one of the country’s p2p platforms in Zopa; “Listing on AIM will allow us to provide further capital to our subsidiaries and scale faster, and take advantage of any developments in the current financial services market,” said Henry Kenner, chief executive officer of TruFin plc, to AltFi. Source.
One of China’s largest online lenders has shelved their IPO because of the regulatory crackdown on online lending; the FT reports that Lufax is waiting until the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) required online lenders to apply for a license; the current thinking is the government will approve licenses in April, though the time frame could be a bit longer; Lufax wants to ensure they get it right instead of rushing to be first. Source.
The Chinese government has stepped up their monitoring on payments, halted IPO approvals, issued new rules for online lenders and continued their crackdown on cryptocurrencies; China has been seen as an innovation leader, in particular in mobile, but the recent crackdown could set the country back as a leading fintech innovator; as the nation matures in certain fintech areas its regulators need to better handle how they react to the market; Michelle Evans, global head of digital consumer research at Euromonitor International, tells TearSheet, “The next stage of its development will require Chinese regulators to find the right balance that will be provide for consumer protection and fair operations while still enabling fintech the room to innovate.” Source.
Alibaba announced it was taking a 33 percent stake in their fintech affiliate Ant Financial; the agreement allows for Alibaba to pick of shares of Ant Financial and also ends the revenue share agreement they had in place; TechCrunch reports the deal was focused on “certain intellectual property rights owned by Alibaba exclusively related to Ant Financial.”; Alibaba saw their shares drop after the announcement and many think this is a prelude to Ant Financial’s IPO. Source.
Shares of Qudian surged almost 48 percent on the first day of trading; the share offering raised about $900mn, making it the largest Chinese listing in the US this year; reaching as high as $35.45 the company ended the day at $29.86; Qudian extends loans to millennials and students for small ticket items like smartphones or concert tickets. Source.
Recent IPO filings by some Chinese unicorns has revealed companies who misrepresented the amount they raised in venture funding; Jianpu Technology is reported to have inflated their capital raising's and Qudian is under pressure for potentially disclosing incorrect bad-loan ratios; Chinese regulators have begun looking more closely at consumer lenders and the recent surge in potential IPOs might take a hit with the bad news trend. Source.
Last year’s batch of Chinese IPOs did not perform well and ended up losing almost $1bn worth of shareholder money; there is an expectation that the number of Chinese IPOs will jump 30 percent in 2018; Qudian, one of the biggest from a year ago, has seen their stock plummet by more than 50 percent; expectations and the Chinese government crackdown on online lending has really hurt the prospects of some companies looking to list. Source.
Credit Karma is seen as one of the hottest fintech startups in the world and a potential 2020 IPO candidate;...