
BOCI leads Series C for Chinese online gold trading platform
An investment unit of Bank of China International (BOCI) has led a RMB200 million ($29 million) Series C round for G-banker, a Chinese online gold trading platform that has several venture capital backers.
BOCI participated via Bohai Zhongsheng Fund, which was established last year. It is joined in the round by Guangkong Zhongyi Capital – a RMB5 billion growth investment arm of China Everbright also set up in 2016 – SBCVC, and Hong Kong-based Radiant Venture Capital, which primarily backs start-ups in China and Israel.
G-banker was founded in 2014 and claims to have more than 1.4 million registered users and to manage gold assets amounting to over 20 tons. Its online platform, which is supported by more than 40 brick-and-mortar outlets, enables users to trade gold in units as small as one thousandth of a gram. The company also provides gold loan services to small and medium-sized jewelers.
The proceeds of the latest round will go towards technological improvements, business expansion and product design, according to a statement on G-banker’s WeChat account. Xin Wang, head of Bohai Zhongsheng Fund, added that the company – like other internet-based businesses – improves the efficiency of its target industry, better integrating resources and reducing speculation.
According to AVCJ Research, G-banker received Series A funding from SBCVC in early 2015, followed by a RMB107 million Series B round later the same year that featured SBCVC and several domestic investors. A Series B-plus round worth RMB50 million – provided by Shanghai Lighter Capital Management – was completed in February 2016.
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