China's Fenqile receives $235m in Series D funding

The injection is part of a larger Series D round that has yet to close. The company expects to raise additional equity funding from Chinese banks, Wenjie Xiao, Fenqile's founder, told local media.

Founded in 2013, Shenzhen-based Fenqile targets college students, allowing them to purchase electronic goods online and pay in installments. It works with more than 100 suppliers including Apple and JD.com, distributing their items through the Fenqile platform. In the first half of this year, the company claimed to facilitate about RMB10 billion ($1.5 billion) in transactions.

Fenqile has recently expanded its target consumer groups to include white collar and blue collar workers with different apps. The new capital will be used for business expansion, risk control and brand building.

According to AVCJ Research, the company received an angel round in April 2014 from Matrix Partners and China Renaissance K2 Ventures, and moved on to a Series A round worth $10 million in August. In December 2014, the start-up scored a $100 million Series B round led by DST Global, followed by Bertlesmann Asia Investment (BAI), Matrix and China Renaissance K2. Last year, Chinese online retailer JD.com invested an undisclosed amount in the company.

Fenqile's rival Qufenqi, backed by Ant Financial Service Group, closed its latest round of renminbi-denominated funding in January, having removed its variable interest entity (VIE) structure in preparation for an onshore listing.

Huasheng Capital is a private equity arm set up by China Renaissance Partners. The later acted as the financial advisor in the round.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Greater China
• Venture
• Financials
• Consumer
• Expansion
• China
• TMT
• Growth capital