P2P lenders and robos decline as China's fintech sector matures
The maturation of China's fintech sector has put pressure on robo-advisors and P2P lenders, as investment caps, third party investor fund requirements and more stringent regulation has caused a slowdown. Scepticism over robo-advisors' ability to deliver has put a damper on the predicted $758bn asset prediction made for 2020 in this sector. A drop in IPOs for P2P lenders and a rise in B2B fintech has caused many firms to move out of the Chinese market.
A PwC report this year found that 75 percent of managers believe that globally only 100 billion US dollars' worth of assets will be managed by robo-advisors, well below industry expectations.

Tech to the forefront in 2017

2017 has, according to consulting firm Oliver Wyman, seen "tech" play a greater role than "fin" in China's fintech sector, with technology being applied to solve real problems in finance rather than to simply boost profits.

China may have banned initial coin offerings and closed some of the world's biggest cryptocurrency exchanges, but that doesn't mean blockchain has been eyed with the same amount of suspicion.

A research center focusing on blockchain technology backed by the Chinese government was launched in September and the People's Bank of China is researching how blockchain could digitize the Renminbi.

A study by McKinsey says that blockchain will not only make financial transactions faster in China, but will also develop the growing digital insurance sector. A report by EY points to the huge potential in China's "massive and underserved SME market," which receives only 20-25 percent of bank loans despite accounting for 60 percent of GDP.

The report says blockchain technology could dramatically open up new sources of finance to SMEs, and provide "10x solutions… that are an order-of-magnitude better than what they replace."

Fintech 'coming of age'

The enormous spending on fintech in 2015 and 2016 arguably sealed China's place as a global leader in the field, and 2017 has seen the sector come of age in many regards.

As with any new disruptive technology, there will be initial problems that can be ironed out with further regulations in the coming years, but Chinese fintech can develop in an ideal environment, where it receives widespread support, investment, and has access to the biggest online and mobile population in the world.

China's rapidly growing middle class will continue to seek new and innovative access to finance, while demand will also come from SMEs and major companies looking to use fintech to minimize costs, boost efficiency and launch themselves into the future.