China to strengthen regulation over Internet finance businesses

BEIJING - China will continue to strengthen regulation over the country's mushrooming Internet finance businesses in 2018 to facilitate long-term development of the industry, the National Internet Finance Association (NIFA) has said.

Instead of conducting special overhauls, financial regulation in the Internet sector this year will be a routine process, and more efforts will be made in improving the industry's self-discipline system, NIFA said in a statement.

NIFA said it would focus on standardizing Internet finance businesses. More research will be done to build a theoretical foundation for the industry's development, while more training will be delivered to enhance risk warning.

Chinese authorities have tightened their grip on the Internet financing market to rein in financial risk in the past year. Regulators ordered a ban on Initial Coin Offerings and shut down all virtual currency exchanges in the country.

The once prospering online lenders also had a difficult time surviving with enhanced rules as unlicensed firms or individuals were banned from carrying out cash loan or micro lending business.

The NIFA has also cooperated with several credit firms to set up a credit-information platform at the beginning of this year to provide personal credit information services for online lenders, supplementing state-run credit platform.