Yesterday, China’s Ping An Insurance announced it has set up Ping An Consumer Finance in Shanghai with a registered capital of RMB 5 billion ($700 million). The new company has been established under Ping Ans’ ‘finance+technology’ strategy and incorporates the Group’s expertise in AI, blockchain and cloud computing.
Ping
An said its technology system would underpin the entire consumer
finance business, including customer acquisition, product innovation,
credit review, risk management, post-lending management and customer
service. The goal is to create synergy between other group companies
and form a closed-loop financial system.
“As
China’s first consumer finance company with a ‘technology +
finance’ positioning, we will realize digital development by
driving our business with advanced technologies such as AI and cloud
computing to enhance user experience, and bring more convenience to
consumers whose consumption habits are rapidly upgrading,” said
Chen Dongqi, Chairman of Ping An Consumer Finance.
Ping
An Consumer Finance has been approved by
the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Ping An
contributed 30% of the company’s registered capital as its largest
shareholder. Other
shareholders include
Harmonious Splendor, which has a stake in Ping An Puhui Enterprise
Management, and two technology companies that are linked to Lufax
Holding, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending company associated with Ping An
Insurance.
Ping
An has a significant presence in the blockchain space, with 68
blockchain patents. It also has 679 AI patents and 48 in cloud
computing. OneConnect Financial,
an
AI and blockchain offshoot
from the group,
went public on the New York stock exchange last year.
While
OneConnect is leading the blockchain development for the Group, Ping
An is also involved in other projects. A few months ago, Ping An
partnered with Shenzhen
Taxation Bureau to
develop a ‘smart tax’ model using AI, blockchain, and other
technologies. The Chinese insurance firm is in a partnership with AI
service provider SingularityNET,
which uses decentralized ledger technology (DLT) for creating,
sharing, and monetizing AI services.