Dianrong, a leading peer to peer lending platform in China, raised a respectable $207 million a couple months back. Now the online lender is considering its next funding round which may hit half a billion dollars as the Chinese P2P market continues to outpace traditional finance.
According to WSJ.com, Dianrong may raise $500 million this coming March. Founded only in 2012, Dianrong has leveraged the fast growing internet finance space capitalizing on its credibility and professional operation in a market that has seen hundreds of platforms fall to the wayside.
P2P lending is huge in China. The month of October alone saw over $18.9 billion in lending according to one report. The sector has already topped 1 trillion yuan for 2015 (over $150 billion). China is by far the largest p2p lending market in the world.
Soul Htite, co-founder and CEO of Dianrong and Lending Club alumni, stated the company expects to announce an expansion outside of China soon. The company already has offices in over 20 different cities in China. The P2P lender is said to originate over 1 billion yuan ($156 million) each month.
While there have been rumors that Dianrong has been considering an IPO, Htite squelched the chatter stating;
“Before we put Dianrong in the public market, we still have a lot to do. ”