Chinese city calls in riot police as angry investors protest outside P2P lender’s headquarters – South China Morning Post

What happened: More than 1,000 investors affected by the sudden collapse of peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Tuandai.com late last month gathered outside of the company headquarters in Dongguan, a city in southern Guangdong province, over the weekend. Many investors who lost their life savings took to the streets seeking to recover their funds and urging the government to intervene. Hundreds of riot police were mobilized in response to the protests.

Why it’s important: Tuandai.com collapsed last month due to turnover problems. The company is currently under investigation for illegal fundraising, and its co-owners Tang Jun and Zhang Lin have turned themselves into police. Before its collapse, Tuandai.com was the 15th-largest P2P lending platform in China with about 220,000 lenders and borrowers, and loans totaling RMB 14.5 billion ($2.2 billion). The collapse of P2P lenders last year also prompted street protests in major cities including Beijing and Shanghai.

Nicole Jao is a reporter based in Beijing. She’s passionate about emerging trends, news, and stories of human interest within the world of technology. Connect with her on Twitter or via email: nicole.jao.iting@gmail.com.

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