中國在金融科技競賽中直追英國
Seven of the world’s most successful 50 fintech companies are now from China, threatening to overshadow the UK as a leading hub for digital start-ups.
在全球最成功的50家金融科技公司中，有7家來自中國，簡直要令英國作爲領先數字初創企業中心的地位黯然失色。
ZhongAn, an online insurance group backed by Alibaba founder Jack Ma that raised $931m over the summer to fund its expansion, tops a list compiled by KPMG. Its survey a year ago contained only one Chinese company.
由阿里巴巴(Alibaba)創始人馬雲(Jack Ma)支持的互聯網保險集團衆安保險(ZhongAn)在畢馬威(KPMG)編制的榜單上排名第一。一年前的調查僅有一家中國公司上榜。今年夏季，衆安保險籌資9.31億美元，主要用於擴張業務。
UK peer-to-peer lending platform Funding Circle was ranked fifth, the highest of six British firms.
英國個人對個人貸款(P2P貸款)平臺Funding Circle排名第五，爲上榜的6家英國公司中排名最高的。
George Osborne, the UK chancellor, has pledged to make London the fintech capital of the world. But Warren Mead, who leads KPMG’s fintech practice, said: “The UK is clearly a leading centre for fintech but with the rise of Chinese firms that position is not guaranteed.”
英國財政大臣喬治攠斯本(George Osborne)承諾把倫敦打造爲全球金融科技之都。但畢馬威金融科技業務負責人沃倫猠德(Warren Mead)表示：“英國顯然是一個領先的金融科技中心，但隨着中國公司的崛起，這一地位已無保障。”
The accountancy group compiled two lists — one of 50 established companies, and another of 50 companies to watch.
畢馬威編制了兩份名單，一個是成熟金融科技公司50強，另一個是值得關注的新興金融科技公司50強。
In total the 100 businesses have raised in excess of $10bn. Global funding for fintech companies is expected to hit $20bn this year — a 66 per cent jump compared with 2014, KPMG said.
畢馬威表示，這100家公司共融資逾100億美元。今年，金融科技公司的全球融資預計將達到200億美元，比2014年增長66%。
Although the UK lagged behind China in established fintech providers, it boasted 12 companies in the “emerging” list — more than any other country.
儘管英國在成熟金融科技公司榜單上落後於中國，但在新興金融科技公司名單上有12家公司上榜，超過其他所有國家。
Financial technology, known as “fintech”, ranges from mobile transactions to digital currencies such as bitcoin.
金融科技（被簡稱爲fintech）領域涵蓋從手機交易到比特幣等數字貨幣。
It presents a unique challenge for traditional banks, as nimble start-up companies eat away at their market share.
它正給傳統銀行帶來獨特挑戰，行動靈敏的初創企業正侵蝕它們的市場份額。
Mr Mead added: “The speed and energy with which fintech innovation is impacting financial services is gathering global momentum on many measures.”
米德補充稱：“從很多衡量標準來看，金融科技創新影響金融服務的速度和能力正在全球範圍內增強。”
Peer-to-peer (P2P) companies offering payments, currency transfers or transactions accounted for a quarter of the list.
P2P貸款公司提供支付、轉賬或交易服務，在榜單上佔據了四分之一的位置。
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said the rapid growth in P2P lenders in China was not yet a threat to banks, as they target customers not served by the incumbents. The fledgling platforms are also small relative to the large credit market in China. By the end of 2014, there were 1,575 platforms in operation in China — but 367 more that had failed.
摩根士丹利(Morgan Stanley)分析師表示，中國P2P貸款公司的迅速成長尚未對銀行構成威脅，因爲它們瞄準的是無法獲得銀行服務的客戶。相對於中國巨大的信貸市場，這種新興平臺的規模相對較小。到2014年底，中國有1575個P2P貸款平臺在營業，但已有367家破產。
