A new report indicates that Chinese firms led international fintech investment in 2018, accounting for nearly half of the global total.
The report from consulting firm Accenture indicates that global investment in fintech companies posted an over 100% YoY increase in 2018 to hit USD$55.3 billion.
China was far and away the leader for global fintech investment last year, with its deal value seeing a near nine-fold increase to tap $25.5 billion.
Ant Financial’s record $14 billion funding in May accounted for over half of China’s fintech investment total, as well as around a third of global fintech investment.
Baidu-spinoff Du Xiaoman Financial was the second largest fundraiser, raising USD$4.3 billion via two transactions, while Chinese wealth management platform Lufax also raised $1.3 billion in December.
“Even with the current volatility in global markets and ongoing macroeconomic concerns, investment in the fintech sector remains strong,” said Richard Lumb, group chief executive for financial services at Accenture.
“The demand for fintech innovations by banks and other financial services companies continues to grow as they face regulatory and capital pressure; competition spurred by Open Banking from new entrants, including Big Tech and neo-banks; and new and evolving security threats.”
