Content Aggregator’s Finance Venture Sparks Concerns-The SixthTone

What happened: In a public letter addressed to the China Banking Regulatory Commission, journalist Li Jianping, who runs a WeChat public account specializing in banking-related news, publicly called out news aggregator Jinri Toutiao for offering financial services without a proper license. The Chinese news aggregator rolled out a low-interest loan service Fangxinjie in July.

Why it’s important: Stricter government regulations have led to a meltdown of China’s online lending platforms since the beginning of this year. In order to survive the tough market, some existing online lending companies seek new opportunities by partnering with non-financial outlets, including media companies, to offer online loans. Both Sina Weibo and MeituPic have rolled out similar service through partnerships with existing lending platforms. “Popular media outlets should be cautious about advertising for lending platforms because of ‘credibility-related issues’,” an expert in the industry warned.

Emma Lee (Li Xin) was TechNode's e-commerce and new retail reporter until June 2022, when she moved to Sixth Tone to cover technology and consumption. Get in touch with her via lixin@sixthtone.com or Twitter.

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