乐信申请在美上市 拟融资5亿美元

LexinFintech Holdings, a Chinese online consumer lending company, has filed for a $500m initial public offering in the US and in the process revealed that funding costs have spiked this year – just as Beijing has signalled its intent to crack down on the sector in a drive to rein in financial risk.

中国线上消费信贷公司乐信集团(LexinFintech Holdings)已递交在美国首次公开发行(IPO)的申请，拟融资5亿美元。该公司在申请过程中披露，今年该公司的资金成本已大幅上升——而此刻正值北京方面表示打算对该行业进行整顿以抑制金融风险。

LexinFintech said in a Securities Exchange Commission filing that it was seeking to raise as much as $500m from its listing on the Nasdaq equities exchange under the ticker symbol “LX”.

乐信在提交给美国证交会(SEC)的文件中表示，它寻求使用股票代码“LX”在纳斯达克(Nasdaq)上市，融资至多5亿美元。

The company said total operating revenue for the nine months to the end of September rose 35.3 per cent year on year to Rmb3.99bn ($600.6m), while operating costs rose 19.9 per cent to Rmb3.1bn, shaking out to a net profit of Rmb5.8m for the period, compared to a loss of Rmb193.7m a year prior.

乐信表示，在截至今年9月末的9个月里，公司总营收同比增长35.3%，至39.9亿元人民币(合6.006亿美元);运营成本上升19.9%，至31亿元人民币;净利润为580万元人民币，而上年同期为亏损1.937亿元人民币。

LexinFintech, which provides instalment loans and other products to finance purchases by consumers, reported funding costs for the nine-month period had risen 67.1 per cent to Rmb341m, which it attributed primarily to taking out loans to fund loans itself. The company said provisions for credit losses were up 195 per cent at Rmb143m as total loans grew 123.3 per cent to Rmb15.9bn.

乐信向消费者提供分期付款贷款等产品，以帮助他们筹措到购物所需的资金。该公司报告称，上述9个月期间的资金成本升高了67.1%，至3.41亿元人民币。乐信把主要原因归结为它需要借钱放贷。该公司表示，信贷损失准备金增加了195%，至1.43亿元人民币，总贷款额则增加了123.3%，至159亿元人民币。

The reported growth in funding costs for the year to date comes as Beijing has signalled its intent to tighten regulation of online consumer lending, just as companies like LexinFintech seek listings in the US. A central bank official warned in October that regulatory agencies would guard against risks from the rapid growth of consumer lending.

乐信报告今年迄今资金成本升高之际，北京方面表示了收紧线上消费贷款监管的意愿，而此时像乐信这样的企业正寻求在美上市。中国央行一名官员10月警告称，监管机构将对消费信贷快速增长构成的风险保持警惕。

Online consumer lending has replaced peer-to-peer lending as the trendy new area in Chinese fintech as a regulatory crackdown on the latter reduced profitability. Outstanding short-term consumer loans in China grew by Rmb1.49tn ($225bn) through the first nine months of 2017, compared to an increase of Rmb830bn for all of 2016, according to central bank data.

随着监管整顿降低了P2P贷款业务的盈利水平，线上消费贷款已取代P2P贷款成为中国金融科技最新潮的领域。中国央行数据显示，2017年头9个月，中国短期消费贷款余额增加了1.49万亿元人民币(合2250亿美元)，而2016年全年的增量为8300亿元人民币。

LexinFintech’s listing is being underwritten by Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank Securities and China Renaissance.

负责乐信上市承销工作的是高盛(Goldman Sachs)、美银美林(BofA Merrill Lynch)、德银证券(Deutsche Bank Securities)和华兴资本(China Renaissance)。