Dianrong Completes C-round Funding of US$207 Million Investment Led by Standard Chartered Bank to Jointly Create "Bank of Tomorrow"

HONG KONG, Sept. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Dianrong.com has recently announced the receipt of US$207 million in funding. The company's latest round of financing was co-led by Standard Chartered Bank (2888.HK) and China Fintech Fund (CFF), and followed by Bohai Leasing (000415.SZ) and other financial institutions. Going forward, Dianrong.com and Standard Charter will be full-fledged partners in a number of areas and regions to jointly explore the best solutions to financial development and create the "Bank of Tomorrow."

Dianrong is one of the leading P2P lending platforms in China, especially known for its technological capability. Its founder and CEO Soul Htite is the cofounder and former CTO of Lending Club, the leading P2P lending platform in the world. Prior to this funding round, Dianrong received investment from Sun Hung Kai & Co. Limited (0086.HK) in October, 2014. Standard Chartered spent two years looking for an outstanding internet finance company and eventually chose Dianrong after conducting in-depth due diligence on a few leading companies in the sector.

Soul Htite, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Dianrong, commented that he is excited to work with Hong Kong listed companies such as Standard Chartered, and the funding marks the first time that a traditional bank is investing in a Chinese internet finance company, indicating that the global financial sector has started a new chapter and the integration between traditional finance and internet finance is entering a fruitful phase.

Wei Zhu, Managing Director and Global Co-President of Standard Chartered Private Equity, commented that Standard Chartered focuses on investing in the best and most differentiated companies. P2P Lending is a major direction of the global finance industry transformation. It can enhance the efficiency of financial services by relying on technology and shape the way the future financial industry, especially the commercial banking sector, will evolve. As a global leader, Standard Chartered has proactively embraced this new model of financial services and is developing ways to apply it more effectively to the bank's services in the future.

Since its inception, Dianrong has been committed to regulatory compliance and building an efficient, transparent and user-friendly internet lending platform while using technology to transform traditional lending business, lower borrowing cost and increas investment returns. In June, 2014, Dianrong launched the innovative, technology-based wealth management product Tuantuan Zhuan (meaning "Group Investing" or literally, "Every Group Wins"), powered by a sophisticated, precise backend computing system to achieve automated, transparent investment diversification. The product has been widely embraced by the market, and its efficiency and ease of operation won the hearts of internet users. So far, Tuantuan Zhuan has exceeded RMB2.7 billion in volume and earned more than RMB100 million in interest for lenders.

Dianrong.com:

As the leading internet finance company in China, Dianrong.com was established by Soul Htite, cofounder and former CTO of Lending Club, and Kevin Guo, a renowned lawyer and private equity partner from Shanghai. Headquartered in Shanghai, the company currently has 18 subsidiaries in China and over 1,700 employees.

Dianrong is dedicated to providing the most advanced financial technology solutions to China's markets, and it focuses on two core businesses: the internet lending platform and banking solutions.

The internet lending platform facilitates personal and business loans by connecting qualified borrowers to millions of potential lenders in China through Dianrong's powerful, easy to use and secure internet infrastructure. The company uses technology to lower cost of acquisitions, operations, loan servicing and post-issuing management, which allows the company to provide loan products of lower interest rates and invest in products with higher returns.

Financial solutions focus on assisting large financial institutions to transform their operations from a traditional model to a 21th Century business model enabled by internet finance. Dianrong's solutions combine technology with the risk management techniques the company has developed from operating its platform. 

Dianrong has gained the recognition and backing from capital markets and traditional financial institutions, and completed several founds of funding, with investments from Northern Light Venture Capital, Sun Hung Kai, Tiger Global Private Equity, Standard Chartered Bank, Bohai Leasing and China Fintech Fund (founded by China Minsheng International Capital and GF Investments).

Standard Chartered Bank:

Standard Chartered Bank is a leading international banking group, with a 150-year history operating in the global markets and more than 86,000 employees. The company provides financial services to individuals and companies to support its customers in investment, trade and the creation of wealth across Asia, Africa and the Middle East, where it earns around 90% of its revenue and profits. Its heritage and values are fully reflected in its brand promise "Here for good."

Standard Chartered PLC is listed on the London and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges as well as the Bombay and National Stock Exchanges in India.

China Fintech Fund (CFF):

The founding members of China Fintech Fund (CFF) include China Minsheng International Capital Limited (CMIC), a subsidiary of China Minsheng Investment Corporation Limited (CMI); and GF Investments (Cayman) Company Limited (GF Investments), a subsidiary of GF Securities. With a focus on investing globally in internet financial technology companies, the private equity fund targets internet financial technology companies at the growth expansion phase and mature stage mainly in China, Europe, the U.S., and other countries and regions. The mission of CFF is to transform the business models of financial services sector, broaden and deepen the sector's financial reach, and lead the technology revolution of internet finance.

Max Giant Capital:

Max Giant Capital is an asset management company that focuses on the Greater China Region with a global outlook and dedication to the management of renminbi assets and China-focused assets. Founded in 2014 by Ms. Katherine Tsang, the company's core business will include macro hedge fund and private equity fund.

Ms. Katherine Tsang served as the Chairperson for Greater China at Standard Chartered Bank, responsible for advancing the bank's strategies in the Greater China Region. From 2004 to 2009, with Ms. Tsang at the helm of the bank's operations in China, the organization expanded rapidly from 600 employees to more than 6,000 while achieving a more than 10-fold revenue increase. Since taking the position as the Chairperson for Greater China in 2009, she had been instrumental in the strategy advancement and business integration in the Greater China Region, leading to the bank's continuous business growth in the region. Especially with the internationalization of renminbi, as one of the core team members she helped create and develop the bank's renminbi business team that grew Standard Chartered into a worldwide leader in the cross-border renminbi business.

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