FINSERV
industry in China was already growing rapidly , but the pandemic has driven it faster still , and given rise to new opportunities ,
The new regulations have , says Messenger , opened up lots of new potential in China for those ready to adapt . “ Essentially , the dominant players are forced to be more open and participate in a more open ecosystem , similar to what we have in the West . There ' s also increasing pressure on firms to have Chinese licenses and understand data security effectively .”
It is this ‘ paperwork ’ challenge that is often difficult for foreign fintech companies to navigate . But because LianLian Global is China-born it has the capability to navigate those changes . Furthermore , over the past couple of years , cross-border e-commerce has boomed . It was already growing rapidly , but the pandemic has driven it faster still , and given rise to new opportunities , he says .
“ That long-term growth trend has been exciting and we see that continuing into the future . But it ' s also giving rise to a whole new set of e-commerce channels . TikTok is one of the big breakout stories in the last year , and there are other new e-commerce channels opening up . So it ' s becoming a more diversified ecosystem for crossborder e-commerce . And it ' s important for fintechs to really be able to navigate that and broaden their approach so that they can help their customers make the most of those opportunities .”
So are companies in general responding well to the situation ? Messenger says the reaction has been mixed , but in general , positive . And that consumer demand through e-commerce channels has grown exponentially and shows no sign of slowing down .
“ We see that volume and growth continuing at a very strong rate . And I think
“ B2B cross border trade is a huge area where fintechs can disrupt and innovate and provide new solutions ”
DAVID MESSENGER CEO , LIANLIAN GLOBAL
62 January 2022