Yirendai bullish on lending prospects despite tighter rules
New York listed firm says growth opportunities numerous despite industry shakeout in China
China’s strict vigil on the peer-to-peer lending sector may have crimped fortunes for several companies, but opened the doors for organised players like Yirendai. The New York-listed firm, unlike its peers, has not only been expanding its business rapidly, but also set its sights on disbursing loans worth 100 billion yuan (HK$112.8 billion) a year by 2020.
The company, which made the history as the first Chinese internet finance firm to be listed on the US bourses in December 2015, is probably not a little-known name to investors and analysts who always include the stock in their to-watch list because of its roller-coaster stock price movements.
Yirendai, established in 2012, also saw one of the biggest intraday stock declines of 20 per cent on August 24, 2016, when Chinese authorities announced a slew of rules to rein in the country’s rampant P2P lending sector. The company, which had priced its American Depository shares at US$10 (HK$77.5) during its New York debut, saw share values plunge to US$3.35 after reaching a record high of US$42.34 earlier in 2016.
“As an entrepreneur, there is nothing we can do in face of the ups and downs in the stock price. What we can do is to work solidly and do our job well,” said Tang Ning, the company founder who also established its parent firm CreditEase, an online lender and wealth manager, in 2006.
“We need to do more in terms of investor education and communication as most of the international investors do not have a clear understanding of China’s credit market and financial innovation,” said Tang.
