P2P lending platform Dianrong Secures $70 million D-round funding
On January 24th, online lending platform Dianrong.com announced 70 million US dollars D-round funding. This round of investment was led by ORIX’s wholly-owned-subsidiary ORIX Asia Capital Co., Ltd.. CITIC Securities CITIC Securities subsidiary CITIC Lyon also participated in. ORIX Corporation, the lead investor in this round, is a 
wholly-owned subsidiary of ORIX Corporation. ORIX Group is an international non-bank financial group listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, ORIX Group is one of the largest integrated financial services groups in the world.
Founded in 2012, Dianrong.com was founded by Soul Htite (co-founder of LendingClub) and Guo Yuhang. As of now, Dianrong.com has attracted more than 4 million registered users and broke monthly trading volume of over 3 billion yuan. This round of investment is the largest amount of financing in the industry since the beginning of 2018. After this round of investment, Dianrong.com has already secured $290 million. Last August, Dianrong.com won 220 million U.S. dollars of financing from the sovereign fund Singapore Government Investment Corporation (GIC), CIMC Leasing Group Co., Ltd. and Simone Investment Management Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Simone Group. (Source: 01Caijing)
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Ant Financial Launches Checkout-Free Store WithAnt
The long-awaited Amazon Go finally opened in Seattle, where Amazon’s headquarter is located in.
On the same day, Ant Financial also launched its own versioned checkout-free store WithAnt. WithAnt mainly sells peripheral products derived from Ant Financial at the Z space of its new office building. Customers can enter the store by scanning his/her Alipay account QR-code, then get to know the details of the product by the LED screen aside, and pick up the one that he/she wants to buy in a box. The box sensor will automatically identify the price and charge the customer’s Alipay account when he/she leaves. In addition, the R & D team said they are also trying to embed sensors in the shoes. If the project succeeds, the customer does not have to scan the code into the shop; he/she could just step in the store, automatically being identified and charged when he/she left.. (Source: mpaypass.com)
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Online Tax Service Platform Huisuanzhang.com Secures ¥400 Million B-round Funding led by Xiaomi
On January 26th, online tax service platform Huisuanzhang.com announced the completion of a ¥400 million B-round funding, which is also record breaking within the industry. This round of investment is led by China’s tech-giant Xiaomi, and participated by 51Credit.com. According to its founders, this amount of money will mainly be utilized to expand its market share and update its strategic layout. Founded in April 2015, Huisuanzhang.com targets on the financing & tax management market and establish a “Internet+Taxation” system supported by cloud computering, big data, artificial intelligence. By the end of 2017, Huisuanzhang.com has set up over 400 regional service branches in 300 cities and attracted over 300,000 merchant users. （Source: Tuoniao.Fm）
WeChat Pay to Launch in Italy
Thanks to the agreement signed by the Italian company and Tencent Trusted Partner Digital Retex and DOCOMO Digital, the European subsidiary of the digital payment global provider NTT Docomo, WeChat Pay, the mobile payment platform from the most popular Chinese app, will launch in Italy in the next weeks. The service aims at reaching all retailers, from the luxury, fashion and design industries, which account for 60% of Chinese purchases, to hospitality and entertainment (restaurants, hotels, museums and theme parks), all aiming to provide an easier and more friendly payment service for Chinese customers. In a few weeks, Chinese tourists visiting Italy will be able to easily purchase their goods both online and in-store through the app on their smartphones. (Source: Finextra)
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