Fintech can ease financing needs of private companies

Fintech can play a great role in helping close the gap between the financing needs of private enterprises and banking products at the time when banks might become more reluctant to address this issue amid downward pressure, according to experts and officials.

"High cost, low efficiency and unsustainable business pattern are common problems faced by inclusive finance in all over the world. Traditional financial service models and technical conditions are difficult to tackle these challenges," Li Dongrong, executive director of China Finance 40 Forum, a non-government think tank, and president of China Internet Finance Association, said during the Global Fintech Summit held on Saturday.

Although concept of inclusive finance has been in existence for nearly 14 years since its inception in 2005, recent research shows mismatch between demand and supply in financial services was quite common.

There are more than 65 million small and medium-sized enterprises facing credit constraints, accounting for 40 percent of the total number of small and medium-sized enterprises. The total financing gap is more than $5 trillion, according to a report by the World Bank Group in April.

Huang Yiping, director of the Digital Finance Research Center of Peking University, said efficient, low-cost fintech sector can play an important role to help ease financing woes of private enterprises.

Financial regulatory authorities should support market-oriented, risk-controlled financial innovations that serve private enterprises. Specifically, support can be provided in three aspects in the short term, namely, issuing licenses, developing credit assessment system, and developing support for remote account opening, according to Huang.