Ping An Consumer Finance Company approved to open

Ping An Consumer Finance Co Ltd received an official approval for opening on Thursday, according to an announcement from the Shanghai office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

The new company will be based in the Lujiazui financial area of Shanghai, with a total registered capital of 5 billion yuan (US$707million). Ping An Insurance (Group) Company will be its biggest shareholder, contributing 30 percent of the capital.

According to the regulatory document, Ping An Consumer Finance will operate in the following areas: issuing personal consumer loans; accepting deposits from shareholders and its domestic subsidiaries; borrowing from domestic financial institutions; issuing financial bonds; conducting consulting and agency business related to consumer finance; selling insurance products related to consumer loans; and making fixed income securities investments.

The company shall commence business within six months from the date of obtaining its business license.

A recent report from global management consulting firm Kearney showed that China's consumer finance market reached 11.4 trillion yuan in 2019, with an average annual growth rate of 33 percent over the past five years.