Interview│WeLend's loan sales have repeatedly hit new highs, "anti-monopoly law" turned out to be a development opportunity

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Written by: Yao Zhuoran

2021-06-11 07:47

Last update date: 2021-06-11 07:47

"Lending services in the entire market fell by 20%, but WeLab's WeLend business rose by 50%. It outperformed the market significantly."

In an interview with "Hong Kong 01" and "The Giant", WeLab founder and group chief executive Long Peizhi pointed out that under the catalysis of the new crown epidemic, users are promoting online lending. "This year's WeLend business has repeatedly hit record highs. There were 9 months of record highs, and in the first 5 months of this year, there were also 2 to 3 months of record highs."

In addition to the virtual bank of WeLab, in fact, WeLend, a subsidiary of the company, was founded in 2013.

WeLend is the largest online consumer loan platform in Hong Kong that combines technology and artificial intelligence.

Long Peizhi pointed out that due to the new crown epidemic last year, the business hours of traditional bank branches were reduced. Among them, the company benefited from the fact that its platform is faster to approve, and secondly, the use process and experience are simpler than traditional banks.

Long Peizhi pointed out that under the catalysis of the new crown epidemic, users will be encouraged to borrow online.

(Photo by Li Zetong)

"Anti-monopoly" benefits development and helps the industry flourish

Recently, China has strictly supervised the development of financial technology. Alibaba (9988) and Tencent (0700) have all pointed out that they will be required to set up financial holding companies.

WeLab's loan assistance platform in Mainland China, "Wollai Digital Technology", ranks among the top three fintech applications with the most traffic in China.

However, financial supervision has no effect on "I come to Digital Science". "The company mainly helps banks and financial institutions in the Chinese mainland market to make loans, and it does not do P2P lending."

He is very positive about the profitability of WeLend this year, and expects this year's business to have a high double-digit increase.

Long Peizhi pointed out that China is currently cracking down on the leading Internet companies with a wide range of business. WeLab's positioning has always been very clear, and it has an open cooperation attitude and no monopoly, so it has no special impact on the business.

"Now that the "anti-monopoly law" is in place, China has opened up market competition, but it has given independent companies like WeLab (that is, companies that are not spun off by large technology companies) will usher in more opportunities, allowing the industry and the market to flourish. .

Since WeLab became a Cyberport community company, it has actively participated in Cyberport activities, such as the Internet Economic Summit and Cyberport Venture Capital Forum.

(Profile picture)

Enough to be "big enough" to be listed, only when the time is right

WeLab is a unicorn of Cyberport and has joined its start-up community.

The company has been financing and researching the listing process in the past few years. Long Peizhi said that the company has a positive view of the capital market and is considering different channels for listing, including SPACs. "At present, the scale and volume of WeLab are large enough, and listing cannot be ruled out. It will proceed, and the timing depends on market opportunities, but there are no details at this time." When asked if any investment banks have contacted the company, the company said it was not convenient to disclose.

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