Three P2P pioneers take stock at 30

Zhang Yifu, Li Xinhe and Zhang Shishi , (from left to right) are co-founders of RenRenYouXin Group Co Ltd.

According to the website www.wangdaizhijia.com (wangdaizhijia means "home of online lending" in Chinese), a Chinese P2P lending portal, the number of P2P lenders in China reached 800 with a yearly turnover of 105 billion yuan ($17.23 billion) by the end of 2013. That compared with 200 P2P companies with a transaction value totaling 5.6 billion yuan in 2012.

The reason P2P flourishes is because individuals and small companies have difficulty getting credit from banks. P2P lending has simplified credit checks, thereby offering an easier option. It also offers a good investment channel for the middle classes because they can normally get three or four times the return bank deposits provide.

The investment in Beijing-based renrendai.com, the leading P2P platform in terms of the total number of outstanding loans, follows similar capital injections into several other major P2P lenders. It is a clear indication of the growing interest by venture capital and private equity firms in the burgeoning P2P lending industry.

For Li Shujun, a partner of TBP Capital, the robust growth of Internet finance is a major trend as household incomes rise and more options in investment channels are developed.

When talking about this round of fundraising, Yang said it looked like "love at first sight" with TBP Capital. "It took us only one week to decide to sign a letter of intent with TBP. The whole process, from undertaking due diligence to finally putting the money in place, lasted less than three months, which is incredible for such a large-scale investment," said Yang.

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