Fintech PR
Yunqi founding partner Michael Mao calls on fintech start-ups to safeguard boundaries and create long-term value as three of its angel-round invested companies are included in CB Insights List
On the afternoon of June 29, CB Insights China held the “Future of Fintech CHINA and CB Insights China Fintech List” summit, and three Yunqi angel-round invested companies – 360 Finance, Inc, IceKredit and Xtransfer – were included in the List. Guest presider Michael Mao, a founding partner of Yunqi Partners, held round table dialogues and discussions with corporate leaders, exchanging ideas focused on key topics such as national policy direction, financial oversight, data compliance and applications, as well as financial security and privacy. An abstract of the views discussed is set out below:
1. The ups and downs of internet finance: Safeguard your capability boundaries and create long-term value
Prior to founding Yunqi Partners, I was a financial team leader at IDG, and looked at quite a lot of financial projects. IDG is China’s first VC involved in investing in internet finance. In retrospect, a wave of internet finance took place in China at the time, triggered by two events in the summer of 2013:
The first was Baidu’s USD1.9 billion acquisition of 91 Wireless. That was a landmark event in the internet finance sector as none of the BAT had spent so much money acquiring a start-up previously.
Another was the debut of Yu’e Bao. It was an industry and financial sector game changer. We saw lots of media reports on fintech every day. Coupled with the proposal for “mass entrepreneurship and innovation”, internet finance start-ups became all the rage, and together with O2O, became the two major start-up booms.
During that time, internet finance enterprises grew very rapidly, and became unicorns in just three to four years. In addition to being technology- and data-driven, domestic policy driven trends were significant as well. Between 2014 and 2016, start-ups in related industries burgeoned, generating enormous economic dividends, but there were poor quality companies as well. As regulatory oversight tightened, a large number of P2Ps imploded, and the fast money bubble burst. Those that ultimately survived were technology-enabled enterprises with sound growth that nourished their businesses, safeguarded their capability boundaries, and created long-term value.
2. Yunqi’s fintech layout: Early stage investment companion with focus on compliance and development
After Yunqi was founded in 2014, we were focused primarily on “technology-enabled industry upgrading”. Fintech was a key layout direction. We invested in a number of technology-driven start-ups in sectors such as cross-border corporate payment, consumer finance, small and micro credit, intelligent risk control, and supply chain finance. As an angel/early lead investor, we accompanied them throughout their growth phase.
When investing in fintech enterprises, we focus on three particular areas: First, financial background and industry experience; second, grasp of technological advantages and enabling industry development; and third, compliance. For instance, among Yunqi’s portfolio of invested enterprises, 360 Finance, Inc‘s former CEO, Xu Jun, once worked at HSBC, and was the youngest partner in McKinsey Asia Pacific in charge of banking, securities and trust operations in China; IceKredit founder Gu Lingyun was a core member of renowned US fintech start-up ZestFinance; Magnet Finance founder Yan Qiang had more than 20 years of commercial banking experience; and Xtransfer founder Deng Guobiao had more than 10 years of management experience at Visa and Ant Financial.
Some entrepreneurs had conducted finance operations based on an internet finance mindset, which in fact contravened the essence of finance. Although there was no supervision at the time, there was significant risk. We wouldn’t have invested even if these companies were affordable.
On the basis of such knowledge, despite the consistent collapse of a large number of renowned internet finance companies over the last two to three years, we have not only managed to sidestep all the mine fields and remained untarnished, all the enterprises in our portfolio have in fact grown rapidly and steadily, and three of the companies in our portfolio have been included in the CB Insights List this time round.
Going forward, although China’s financial digitalization still has a long way to go, and the 2020 pandemic will accelerate digital transformation among Chinese industries, fintech may well become the frontier of change. Entrepreneurs should grasp growth opportunities, respect objective laws, excel in their technical expertise, and enable and increase the overall value of the industry.
- His Majesty King Felipe VI and the Government of Spain have bestowed upon Professor Marcos López de Prado the Officer’s Cross of the Royal Order of Civil Merit
- The award recognizes Professor López de Prado’s distinguished services to science and the global investment industry over an international career spanning 25 years and three continents
- Knights and Dames of the Order include heads of state, royalty, diplomats, scientists, artists, as well as government, business, political, religious and military leaders
ABU DHABI, UAE, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ADIA Lab Board member Professor Marcos López de Prado has received the Officer’s Cross and diploma of the Royal Order of Civil Merit, one of Spain’s highest honours, from His Majesty King Felipe VI and the Government of Spain. The award was presented at the investiture ceremony held in Abu Dhabi on 21 November 2024 by H.E. Íñigo de Palacio España, Ambassador of Spain to the United Arab Emirates. The honour recognises Professor López de Prado’s “distinguished services to science and the global investment industry”.
His Majesty the King of Spain is the Grand Master of the Order, and Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation is its Grand Chancellor. Knights and Dames of the Order are appointed for their outstanding service to society and include heads of state, royalty, diplomats, scientists, artists, as well as government, business, political, religious and military leaders.
In his remarks at the investiture ceremony, Ambassador de Palacio highlighted Professor López de Prado’s extraordinary contributions, including his pivotal role in founding ADIA Lab and establishing its collaboration agreement with the Kingdom of Spain, which has fostered a robust scientific exchange between Spain and the UAE. The Ambassador also commended Professor López de Prado for elevating and enriching Spain’s image abroad.
Professor López de Prado has been a driving force in the modernisation of finance over the past 25 years, pioneering artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms that are now widely adopted at some of the world’s largest investment firms—an achievement recognised with multiple international awards. He is Global Head – Quantitative Research and Development at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a Research Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (U.S. Office of Science), and Professor of Practice at Cornell University’s School of Engineering, where he teaches machine learning.
Ambassador de Palacio remarked:
“Ranked among the top 10 most-read authors in economics globally by the Social Science Research Network (SSRN), and having advised the U.S. Congress on AI policy, Marcos’ work spans science, industry and public service. The Royal Order of Civil Merit acknowledges not only his scientific and professional accomplishments, but also the lasting social impact of his work, which has strengthened international cooperation and deepened ties between nations.”
Professor López de Prado expressed the personal significance of this honour:
“As both a professor and a fund manager, I have worked for the past 25 years to advance our field, developing AI algorithms that make investing more evidence-based, systematic, and reliable. I hope this accolade draws further attention to the financial applications of AI and supercomputing, which benefit society by enabling better decision-making and public policy design. I am grateful to ADIA for the opportunity to apply my scientific work towards achieving its long-term investment objectives.”
“I extend my heartfelt thanks to H.E. Íñigo de Palacio España for his exemplary role as Ambassador, and his strong advocacy for ADIA Lab. I would not have earned this highly coveted distinction without the unwavering support of my family, friends, and countless colleagues, many of whom are here with me today. This knighthood is also for them, and I will wear its insignia in their name with pride, and with profound gratitude towards His Majesty King Felipe VI.”
Among the attendees at the ceremony were several renowned scientists: Prof. Steven Chu, Nobel Laureate in Physics (1997) and former U.S. Secretary of Energy (2009-2013); Prof. Dan Shechtman, Nobel Laureate in Chemistry (2011); Prof. Shafi Goldwasser, recipient of the Turing Award (2012) and the Gödel Prize (1993, 2001); Prof. Guido Imbens, Nobel Laureate in Economics (2021); Prof. Jack Dongarra, Turing Award (2021); Prof. Miguel Hernán, Rousseeuw Prize for Statistics (2022); Prof. Horst Simon, Gordon Bell Prize (1998, 2009). Institutional representatives included: H.E. Carme Artigas, Co-Chair of the United Nations AI Advisory Body; H.E. Sultan Al Mansoori, former Minister of Economy of the UAE; H.E. Félix Barrio Juárez, Managing Director of Spain’s National Cybersecurity Institute; H.E. Prof. Enrique Herrera Viedma, Vice-President for Research of the University of Granada; H.E. Antoine Delcourt, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Belgium to the UAE; and H.E. Robert Lauer, Ambassador of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to the UAE.
About Marcos López de Prado
Dr. Marcos López de Prado is Global Head – Quantitative Research and Development at the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), a founding Board member of ADIA Lab, a Research Fellow at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (U.S. Office of Science), and Professor of Practice at Cornell University’s School of Engineering, where he teaches machine learning. He has published approximately 100 scientific articles on AI and statistical inference in the leading academic journals, is a founding co-editor of The Journal of Financial Data Science, and the author of influential graduate textbooks used by universities worldwide. He is the inventor of 15 patents, several of which have been purchased and licensed by some of the largest institutional investors worldwide to manage multibillion-dollar funds. In recognition of his work, Professor López de Prado has received various scientific and industry awards, including the National Award for Academic Excellence (1999) by the Kingdom of Spain, the Quant Researcher of the Year Award (2019) by Portfolio Management Research, the Buy-Side Quant of the Year Award (2021) by Risk.net, and the Bernstein Fabozzi / Jacobs Levy Award (2024) by The Journal of Portfolio Management. For more information, visit https://QuantResearch.org/
About ADIA Lab
ADIA Lab is an independent institution engaged in basic and applied research in Data Science, AI, Machine Learning, and High-Performance Computing, across all major fields of study. This includes exploring applications in areas such as climate change and energy transition, blockchain technology, financial inclusion and investing, decision making, automation, cybersecurity, health sciences, education, telecommunications, and space. Based in Abu Dhabi, ADIA Lab is an independent, standalone entity supported by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a globally-diversified investment institution that invests funds on behalf of the Government of Abu Dhabi.
ADIA Lab has its own governance and operational structure, and is guided by an Advisory Board of global thought-leaders in data and computationally intensive disciplines, to pursue its research independently. For more information, visit https://www.adialab.ae/
About the Royal Order of Civil Merit
The Royal Order of Civil Merit is a state honour established in 1926 by King Alfonso XIII of Spain to recognise extraordinary services of Spanish and foreign citizens for the good of the Nation. Knights and Dames of the Order include heads of state, royalty, diplomats, scientists, artists, as well as government, business, political, religious and military leaders.
His Majesty the King of Spain is the Grand Master of the Royal Order of Civil Merit, hence all awards of this Order are bestowed in his name. Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation is the Grand Chancellor of the Order. The Ministry’s Directorate-General for Protocol receives the proposals, evaluates all candidates, and produces the mandatory reports justifying the exceptional merits of each awardee. For more information, visit https://www.exteriores.gob.es/es/Ministerio/Protocolo/Paginas/Condecoraciones.aspx
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- EQT to sell Melita to Goldman Sachs Alternatives
- Under EQT’s ownership, Melita strengthened its position as a leading digital infrastructure owner and operator through strategic investments in its network and customer experience, while building a successful international Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity business
- Today, Melita is the only operator in Malta providing both nationwide Gigabit fixed and nationwide 5G mobile services, and is well-positioned to expand its footprint in the fast-growing IoT connectivity sector
STOCKHOLM, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — EQT is pleased to announce that the EQT Infrastructure IV fund (“EQT”) has signed an agreement to sell Melita (“the Company”) to Goldman Sachs Alternatives.
Founded in 1992, Melita is today a leading digital infrastructure owner and operator in Malta with a fully invested fiber-powered fixed network as well as a nationwide 5G mobile network with its own towers, backhaul and small cell footprint. With the largest data center in Malta, Melita delivers a full suite of digital services, including Gigabit broadband and 5G mobile connectivity, premium TV offerings, and data center solutions to households and businesses across the country.
Since EQT acquired Melita in 2019, the Company has made substantial investment in its infrastructure and enhanced its operations and service offering. For example, it has successfully developed Generative AI tools to support customers with billing, sales and technical queries which had a positive impact on customer satisfaction. The Company has also expanded internationally, establishing its presence in the rapidly growing IoT connectivity market via its proprietary platform and agile, customer-centric go-to-market approach.
Sustainability has been a core focus for Melita, becoming the first EQT portfolio company to have its near-term targets validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The Company is investing in solar farms to produce renewable energy and has already replaced almost half of its car fleet with electric vehicles. It also established the Melita Foundation which supports impactful community initiatives.
Ulrich Köllensperger, Partner in the EQT Value-Add Infrastructure Advisory team, said: “Building on EQT’s long track record of investing in digital infrastructure, we supported Melita through strategic investments including in its 5G coverage and an upgrade of its fiber-powered network. We are proud of the rapid progress of Melita’s IoT business which, in just a few years since inception, has grown significantly and through add-on acquisitions, established a promising new business line with a pan-European reach. We believe the Company is well-positioned for further growth and would like to thank Harald and the entire team for their dedication and wish them continued success.”
Harald Rösch, CEO of Melita, said: “Thanks to EQT’s support, the past five years have been transformational, enabling us to make substantial progress across all aspects of our business and becoming the first operator in the European Union to deploy both a nationwide Gigabit broadband network and a nationwide 5G network. This transaction reflects the achievements of our entire team and the loyalty of our customers. With Goldman Sachs Alternatives’ support and expertise, we are excited to continue our journey sustainably, investing in our infrastructure, enhancing our services in Malta and driving further innovation.”
The transaction is subject to conditions including regulatory approvals.
EQT was advised by UBS (financial), Milbank and Camilleri Preziosi (legal).
Contact
EQT Press Office, [email protected]
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LONDON, Nov. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Space NK reveal growth during the last financial year, as turnover rose 34 per cent to £196.5 million in the year to the end of March, compared with the previous 12 months. Pre-tax profit rose from £1.5 million to £7.5 million during the same period.
This growth has continued into the current financial year, with half year figures up 38% per cent year-on-year. Diving deeper into this performance, it’s clear Space NK is truly an omnichannel business with shop sales rising 24 per cent and online sales increasing 35 per cent during the first six months of the year.
Performance has been fuelled by Space NK’s growth in customers, with its active base experiencing double-digit growth across all age categories, from Gen Z through to millennials and Gen Alpha. The fastest-growing category being the under-25s, at 164 per cent.
Andy Lightfoot, CEO, explained “We are delighted to report another record-breaking half of sales (April 24 – Sept 24) up 38% on last year, continuing our run of greater than 30% growth every year since 2020. Since then, the business has more than doubled its revenue and with our customer first mindset and expertly curated brands, we are delighted with our consistent and continuous growth”.
Plans to increase Space NK’s store portfolio by a further 10 additions to the existing estate are in flight – Meadowhall (Sheffield) opened November 17th 2024, a new store in Milton Keynes will open this weekend (23[rd] November) with further openings in Bluewater and other locations scheduled for 2025.
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