UNITED ASIA FINANCE LIMITED
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“ UA is the first finance company in the market to introduce online personal loans , namely the ‘ i-Money ’ internet personal loan as early as the year 2000 , at a time when even many other finance companies had not yet joined the market . In 2015 , our mobile app ‘ One Click to Loan ’ was launched , further offering convenient and hassle-free loan experiences for customers ”
— Akihiro Nagahara , Managing Director & CEO , United Asia Finance for his company in Japan which turned out to be very successful . Despite not speaking Cantonese at that time , in 1977 , Nagahara was dispatched to venture to Hong Kong by his boss at the time , bringing the idea of the unsecured personal loan to the city . He was able to do so thanks to the deposit-taking companies ordinance instituted in 1976 , allowing an overseas company with a minimum capital of HK $ 2.8mn to set up JCG Finance in Hong Kong . The personal loan business grew fast and successfully until being sold in 1990 , at which time there were 30 branches .
In 1993 , with investment by Allied Group , Nagahara opened United Asia Finance Limited , with profits recorded from the very first year . In 2007 , the company achieved the milestone of expanding to Mainland China , with the first branch opening at Shenzhen , thus becoming the first Hong Kong finance company to start a consumer finance business in the Mainland . Now , there are branches in 15 cities throughout Mainland China . Since 1996 , ITOCHU has been a shareholder . In 2005 , a majority stake in the
APRIL 2020