China's P2P lenders dance with bull stock market

Wang Qian, an analyst with Rong360.com, said many P2P investors were also investors and against the backdrop of a super stock rally, P2P investment is losing its appeal.

Executives of several P2P platforms said industry expansion is slowing this year and more investors are withdrawing money from the platforms.

Wang Kun, founder of Duanrong.com, said the P2P platform received only half of its forecasted deposits in April. However, as the stock market became volatile this month, there were signs of industry recovery, Wang said.

Lu Yuquan, founder of Gongming Tech, an online exchange for Internet finance products, said the bull stock market had a big impact on the P2P industry and many platforms reported sluggish growth this year.

If the stock market continues to rally, some P2P platforms might be forced to close, said Lu. For those who survive, they might embrace another golden growth period when the market is more bearish, he said.

Many P2P platforms, however, have tapped into growth opportunity in the stock market and are starting to offer margin financing to investors, a new business.

Statistics from Yingcan Investment Management and Counselling Co.,show over 20 P2P platforms now offered margin financing and trading value hit 2 billion yuan in April, up 15 percent from the previous month.

Liu Yanfeng, founder of P2P platform Anxindeli, said the bull stock market affected its total deposits, but it also nurtured the new margin financing business.

The high leverage, however, could put both investors and platforms at risk, warned analysts.

The failure of mandatory liquidation under the margin system when shares plunge could mean debt defaults and liquidation could trigger disputes, Wang said.