Xiaomi, Shunwei lead $37m round for China P2P lending site Jimubox
Chinese smart phone maker Xiaomi and Shunwei Capital Partners, both founded by Chinese angel investor Lei Jun, have jointly led a $37.2 million Series B round of funding for Jimubox, a peer-to-peer (P2P) lending start-up in China.
Temasek Holdings' Vertex Venture Holdings, Matrix Partners, Magic Stone Alternative Investments and Ventech China also participated. Ventech invested in a Series A round that amounted to tens of millions of dollars earlier this year.
This is the latest of a string of investments Chinese P2P lending platforms, which connect with individual lenders with small-scale borrowers, essentially meeting the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises that don't qualify for bank financing.
Jimubox, which came online in August last year, was founded by Xiaomei Peng, former COO at travel package search website Qunar. Its trading volume has surpassed RMB2 billion ($326 million). The platform has developed investor protection schemes, which include forming partnerships with third-party guarantee companies. It has also set up investor monitoring groups, allowing selected investors access to information and documents not disclosed on Jimubox's website.
The new funding will be used to build out Jimbubox's team, enhance risk management technology systems, develop new product and ramp up business exposure into new markets.
"Having Xiaomi as a shareholder will drive us to more quickly achieve our goal to build the leading internet finance marketplace in China. We will provide faster, more efficient, and lower cost financing solutions that will stimulate the growth of the overall economy," said Dong Jun, founder and CEO Jimubox, in a statement.
VC investment in Chinese P2P platforms continues apace. Two months ago, Rong360, Chinese online search for loan products, received a $60 million Series C round led by Temasek's Pavilion Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Lightspeed China Partners and KPCB also participated.
Other companies receiving VC funding recently include Yooli.com,WeLAbs, PPDai and , which was set up by the co-founder of US-based P2P lending service Lending Club. Meanwhile, Trustbridge Partners led a $130 million Series A round for , claiming it was the largest transaction ever seen in the P2P space globally.
China e-Capital acted as financial advisor to Jimubox.
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