China threatens UK’s position as world’s leading hub for fintech

Seven of the world's most successful 50 fintech companies are now from China, threatening to overshadow the UK as a leading hub for digital start-ups.

在全球最成功的50家金融科技公司中，有7家来自中国，简直要令英国作为领先数字初创企业中心的地位黯然失色。

ZhongAn, an online insurance group backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma that raised $931m over the summer to fund its booming expansion, tops a list compiled by KPMG. KPMG's survey a year ago contained only one Chinese company. UK peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle was ranked fifth, the highest of six British firms.

由阿里巴巴创始人马云支持的互联网保险集团众安保险在毕马威编制的榜单上排名第一。今年夏季，众安保险筹资9.31亿美元，主要用于扩张业务。一年前的调查仅有一家中国公司上榜。英国个人对个人贷款平台Funding Circle排名第五，为上榜的6家英国公司中排名最高的。

George Osborne, the chancellor, has pledged to make London the fintech capital of the world. But Warren Mead, who leads KPMG's fintech practice, said: "The UK is clearly a leading centre for fintech but with the rise of Chinese firms that position is not guaranteed."

英国财政大臣乔治•奥斯本承诺把伦敦打造为全球金融科技之都。但毕马威金融科技业务负责人沃伦•米德表示："英国显然是一个领先的金融科技中心，但随着中国公司的崛起，这一地位已无保障。"

The accountancy group compiled two lists — one of 50 established firms, and another of 50 firms to watch.

毕马威编制了两份名单，一个是成熟金融科技公司50强，另一个是值得关注的新兴金融科技公司50强。

In total the 100 firms have raised in excess of $10bn. Global funding for fintech companies is expected to hit $20bn this year — a 66 per cent jump compared with 2014, KPMG said.

毕马威表示，这100家公司共融资逾100亿美元。今年，金融科技公司的全球融资预计将达到200亿美元，比2014年增长66%。

Although the UK lagged behind China in established fintech providers, it boasted 12 companies in the "emerging" list — more than any other country.

尽管英国在成熟金融科技公司榜单上落后于中国，但在新兴金融科技公司名单上有12家公司上榜，超过其他所有国家。

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the rapid growth in P2P lenders in China was not yet a threat to banks, as they target customers not served by the incumbents. The fledgling platforms are also small relative to the large credit market in China.

摩根士丹利分析师表示，中国P2P贷款公司的迅速成长尚未对银行构成威胁，因为它们瞄准的是无法获得银行服务的客户。相对于中国巨大的信贷市场，这种新兴平台的规模相对较小。