China

China, the unrivalled giant in e-commerce, added another crowning achievement when it emerged as a leader in the fintech world.

In 2015, fintech attracted a record US$20.3B spread across 1,191 investments. In the latest issue of “Money of the future,” a report by INSEAD and fintech fund Life.SREDA VC uncovered the latest trends in fintech, China was seen as a clear winner in a few key areas. Here are the five sectors in fintech that China seems to be leading the world in.

China is one of the massive forces in global innovation. As Renminbi gains strength and the startup community in the country produces internationally powerful players, it becomes clear that China takes a very special place in the global FinTech arena.

How will P2P lending fare in a downturn? Can the industry improve securitisation practices? Why did growth slow last year? Is China really the most exciting market? What will consolidation mean for the industry?

With digitalization and FinTech high on the banking agenda, the disruption of financial services looks like a given. The question, however, is where will the real change come from. Will it be blockchain, real-time settlement, the highly competitive payment space, crowdfunding, or P2P lending?

Diane Wang, founder of DHgate.com and Co-Chair of the B20 SME Development Task Force has proposed using China's successful e-trade business model to combat core issues SMEs currently face: access to finance, access to the global value chain, and improving the regulatory operating environment.

Chinese eCommerce conglomerate Alibaba is once again bolstering its business-to-business capabilities. Reports in the South China Morning Post on Wednesday (Jan. 13) said Alibaba revealed having more than 25 partnerships with credit rating agencies and financial institutions throughout the globe as part of its strategy to link SMEs on its platform with working capital.

“Finding the right balance between financial reform and risk prevention will be one of the most important issues of our time,” writes Ruizhe Zhang of Dagong Global Credit Rating Co Ltd, in a recent China Daily op-ed on ECNS.