China's FinTech investment soars ninefold

China's investment in financial technology, or FinTech, soared ninefold last year to US$25.5 billion to account for almost half the global total — which more than doubled to US$55.3 billion — consulting and outsourcing services provider Accenture said in a report on Tuesday. 

“Many investors have woken up to the fact financial technology can add a lot of benefits to businesses and consumers alike, which is why we keep seeing an increase in FinTech activity,” said Albert Chan, Financial Services practice lead with Accenture China.

In China, record deals in 2018 came from “Big Tech” firms, such as Alibaba's Ant Financial, which raised US$14 billion; Du Xiaoman Financial, which was spun off from Baidu for US$4.3 billion; and US$1.3 billion in funding raised by wealth management platform Lufax.

The booming FinTech demand has seen several newly-listed Chinese firms including Nasdaq-listed Lexin and New York-listed Jianpu and PPDai.

Also on Tuesday, Jianpu reported a revenue increase of 27 percent year on year to US$107.9 million in the quarter ended on December 31. Net profit was US$1.7 million, compared with a loss of US$20.4 million a year earlier.

China's Fintech industry is still in its infancy but has huge potential, Ye Daqing, CEO of Jianpu, said in a recent interview.