Advances in payments and insurance fields driving resurgence, says report

Chinese fintech companies took four of the top 10 spots in the 2018 Fintech100 report, and three of the top five, as Chinese incumbents continue to build scale with a heavy emphasis on payments and insurance.

KPMG and fintech investment firm H2 Ventures compiled and announced the ranking.

Ant Financial topped the list, followed by JD Finance, while Du Xiaoman Financial ranked No 4 and Lufax, an online financial asset trading company that uses big data to analyze risk, came in at No 10. The companies' user numbers are growing at a staggering rate, as are their product offerings.

Ant Financial is the world's largest third-party payments platform. JD Finance uses its e-commerce expertise to provide finance across seven business areas, including consumer finance, crowdfunding and payment services. Du Xiaoman Financial provides short-term loan and investment services.

"The 2018 Fintech100 showcases the increasing diversity and scale of the global fintech market. Payments and lending continue to be the dominant sectors, however, wealth management is taking off, with 14 companies on the list," said Ian Pollari, global co-lead of KPMG fintech.

The 100 companies were selected based on factors including total capital raised, rate of capital raising and geographic diversity. The list highlighted dynamic fintech companies from around the world that are transforming the financial services industry, from digital payments and lending, to insurtech and neobanking, as they attract investment at a record pace, according to the report.

Payments companies dominated the Fintech100, with 34 in total, followed by 22 in lending, 14 in wealth management and 12 in insurance.

The US topped the ranking with 18 fintech companies placing in the top 100, including three in the top 10, followed by the UK with 12, and China with 11. Australia and Singapore also placed strongly with seven and six companies, respectively.

The global competition continues to expand, with 36 different countries represented in the list this year, up from 29 in 2017 and 22 in 2016. Almost half of the companies on this year's list were founded and continue to operate in emerging markets.

Ben Heap, founding partner at H2 Ventures, said: "Venture capital backing of fintech companies continues to accelerate. The companies on the 2018 list have raised over $52 billion in venture capital, more than double the total of last year's list, and more than $27 billion of capital in the past 12 months, a 366 percent increase over last year."

In terms of major funding rounds, 26 companies on the Fintech100 have each raised $100 million in the last twelve months, Heap said.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/25/2018 page16)