WeBank, which is 30% owned by Tencent, is raising more than $450 million in the round led by Warburg Pincus as well as Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd., the people said. The online bank’s first fundraising round since its operations began a year ago puts a roughly $5.5 billion price tag on the company including the fresh funds, the people said. The deal is expected to be finalized this week, they said. The fundraising comes as WeBank scrambles to establish its position in China’s Internet finance sector, where major technology firms have teamed up with financial services providers to set up online banks over the past year. Tencent and WeBank face tough competition from online shopping firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and its financial-services affiliate, Ant Financial Services Group.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-tencent-backed-webank-raising-funds-at-5-5-billion-valuation-1453892057