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Asian alternative investment management firm PAG and China-focused private equity firm Primavera Capital Group have led a RMB800 million (US$117 million) series C round in Dashu Finance, a Shenzhen-based online lender of unsecured loans to small and micro enterprises that traditionally could not secure funding from banks.
Founded in 2014, Dashu Finance focuses on providing unsecured loans with an average size of RMB250,000 (US$3,675) to small and micro enterprises, as well as select individuals. Chinese banks only make secured loans to companies, and largely neglect smaller private firms' financing needs. With 17 offices in China, the company has provided unsecured loans to over 60,000 small and micro companies. Dashu specializes in credit analysis based on big data, a method traditionally applied only to credit card loans and micro loans. It has issued over RMB200 billion in accumulated unsecured loans to individuals over the past several years, it said in an announcement. In addition, Dashu offers its credit analysis tools to traditional financial institutions such as banks.
