The average value of China’s fintech unicorns is at least eight times greater than the average value of North American fintech unicorns according to a new report on the fintech sector from Hong Kong.
WHub’s “2019 Hong Kong Fintech White Paper” indicates that mainland China is host to eight “global fintech unicorns that create impact” whose total valuation is USD$214.6 billion.
Hong Kong lays claim to four unicorns with a valuation of $8.5 billion, bringing China’s total number of leading fintech unicorns to 12.
The United States is home to 24 fintech unicorns with a total valuation of $76.6 billion, while the rest of the world is host to nine fintech unicorns worth $26.0 billion.
Even when $150 billion fintech giant Ant Financial is excluded, the average value of mainland China’s eight fintech unicorns is $26.8 billion, which is eight times the average value of $3.2 billion for North American fintech unicorns.
The average value of fintech unicorns in Hong Kong is $2.1 billion, while for fintech unicorns in the rest of the world the average value is $2.9 billion.
China’s eight leading fintech unicorns (data courtesy of WHub)
| No. | Company | Valuation (USD$ billion) |
| 1 | Ant Financial | 150.00 |
| 2 | Lu.com | 38.00 |
| 3 | JD Finance | 20.00 |
| 4 | Lakala | 1.60 |
| 5 | TDW | 1.50 |
| 6 | Cgtz.com | 1.40 |
| 7 | Tiger Brokers | 1.10 |
| 8 | Tongdun | 1.00 |
Data from KPMG indicates that China accounted for four of the top five fintech deals in 2018, with Ant Financial coming in first with a $14 billion transaction, followed by Shanghai’s Lu.com ($1.3 billion) and Hangzhou’s Caogen Touzi ($358 million).
India’s Paytm took fourth place ($356 million), while Beijing’s Wecash accounted for the fifth biggest deal ($160 million).
Big data and data analytics firms are most heavily represented amongst the leading ranks of China’s fintech sector, accounting for 18 of its top 50 companies according to the WHub report.
Lending, consumer and situation finance companies account for 11 of China’s top 50 fintech companies, while payment technology and integrated financial technology each lay claim to six companies.
Wealth management and capital markets are represented by five companies, while blockchain and insurtech each have two companies amongst the top 50.
