Regulators are inspecting Chinese P2P lenders for compliance with new rules issued last year; specifically lenders must partner with a custodian and limit loans to RMB 1 million ($144,200) for individuals and RMB 5 million ($721,001) for companies; they are also not permitted to guarantee principal or interest; the country currently has more than 2,400 P2P lenders; experts expect the new rules will likely change the nation's P2P lending landscape significantly; Roger Ying, founder and chief executive of P2P lender Pandai stated: "[There] will be shakeouts, though good for those which are compliant. It will take time for P2Ps to move to custodian banks. Presumably the most risk for investors is with P2Ps who do not have escrow [or] custodian bank accounts as retail investor sentiment is low." Source
According to the Wall Street Journal, PayPal and bitcoin have been used for funding Islamic terrorist attacks in Indonesia; the virtual payments were reported to be more difficult to track; the Indonesian Financial Transactions Report and Analysis Center says terrorism financing cases have increased in the country from 12 in 2015 to 25 in 2016. Source
P2P lender China Rapid Finance has announced a partnership with Tencent's wealth management group, Licaitong; China Rapid Finance will list investments on the Licaitong platform; the product listings will include fixed-term investments ranging from nine months to 18 months with expected annualized returns ranging from 4.65% to 6.19%; the investment products reached capacity of RMB 27 million ($3.89 million) within two hours of the launch; China Rapid Finance will continue to offer investments through the Licaitong partnership; in a statement regarding the partnership, Dr. Zang Wang, CEO of China Rapid Finance, said, "This collaboration between CRF and Tencent's Licaitong platform will support the development of inclusive finance in China." Source
Sichuan Xinwang Bank and Jilin Yilian Bank have received licensing to provide internet banking services in China; the two banks will bring the total number of digital only banks in China to four; Xiaomi is a leading Chinese shareholder in Sichuan Bank with a 29.5% stake and Meituan is a leading shareholder in Jilin Yilian Bank with a 28.5% stake; the other two digital banks in the Chinese market include Ant Financial's MyBank and Tencent's WeBank. Source
Predictions in 2015 estimated that within 20 years half of the jobs in Japan could be done by robots; the Nomura Research Institute worked with Michael Osborne in 2015 to study 600 jobs in Japan reporting that 49% could be replaced by computer systems; since the 2015 predictions there has been a continued trend toward artificial intelligence with Japanese insurance company Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance releasing one of the first public announcements on artificial intelligence replacing a significant portion of workers in its payment processing department in January 2017. Source
Chinese regulators are considering custodian requirements for bitcoin to help mitigate effects from its market risks; the custodian support appears to be welcomed by platforms and investors in China; overall, Chinese regulators are taking a more active role in bitcoin market activity as Chinese investors increasingly account for a majority of bitcoin's trading volume. Source
The Japan Exchange Group has been approved to use blockchain in trading and will begin testing blockchain on the Tokyo Stock Exchange; its approval follows a previous restriction on blockchain's use in exchange trading; with the approval the Japan Exchange Group may also explore artificial intelligence; other market exchanges working on blockchain developments include Myanmar's Yangon Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq; the Bank of Japan has also reported increased research in the use of fintech. Source
China's major bitcoin exchanges halted trading on Friday, January 13 and the platforms are updating their trading terms; some have yet to reopen and others are operating with trading restraints, reports CoinDesk; the changes follow discussions between Chinese bitcoin exchanges and regulator People's Bank of China. Source
Australian robo advisor SuperEd is seeking AUS$6 million (USD$4.53 million) to expand its services; the founders expect to use the funds to provide white label robo advisory services for Australian superannuation funds; the robo advisor is also developing tools for analyzing retirement income from the funds. Source
Business marketplace lender Loan Frame has announced a $2.25 million fundraise that will help the firm expand its business in India as demonetization and the Indian economy present new opportunities for growth; participants in the $2.25 million funding round included the co-founder of Vedanta Capital, the former chairman of Visa International and the co-chief executive of MIO Partners; the platform has stated it is seeking to build the largest small and medium-sized business lending marketplace in the sub-continent; expects to lend $150 million over the next two years with both secured and unsecured loans. Source