China's Ping An expands financial services footprint

Ping An, China's largest insurer by market size, is expanding its footprint in the financial services sector with the launch of Ping An Consumer Finance, a new technology enabled finance company in Shanghai.

The company is expected to create synergy with other businesses of Ping An and form a closed-loop financial system.

Ping An Insurance Company of China said the new entity is built on the group's expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and cloud computing. Its core technology system underpins the entire consumer finance business, including targeted customer acquisition, product innovation, credit review, risk management, post-lending management and customer service.

Ping An Consumer Finance is registered in Shanghai, with registered capital of RMB5 billion (about $700 million). Ping An contributes the majority of the capital base and has a 30 percent shareholding.

The launch is subject to approval from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Chen Dongqi, chairman of Ping An Consumer Finance, said: "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."