China has a new fintech unicorn: Xiaomi-backed online stock brokerage startup Tiger Brokers, which on Wednesday closed a Rmb500 million ($75 million) series-C round of funding, giving it a total valuation of $1.06 billion.
Several investors including Prospect Avenue Capital, Orient Hontai Capital and Oceanpine Capital participated in the round, the company said on its WeChat account.
“We see a dominant internet gene in Tiger,” Ming Liao, a founder partner of Prospect Avenue Capital, referencing the company's technological strengths.
Tiger's tech credentials, together with its experience covering global markets, made it a new breed of broker well positioned to grow quickly in line with the fintech revolution worldwide, said Ming.
Other notable investors too believe Tiger Brokers can stand out in what is a very crowded and competitive field. Even before its series-C round of funding, it had already attracted over 20 different strategic investors including US online brokerage firm Interactive Brokers and Singapore-based US investor and commentator Jim Rogers, as well as Chinese electronics goods giant Xiaomi.
Not that its competitors are standing still. Chinese brokers such as Haitong Securities are increasingly offering overseas investment opportunities to Chinese investors. To bolster their credibility and reach many Chinese brokers are also opening overseas offices.
Chinese investor enthusiasm for offshore-listed mainland firms such as Alibaba and JD.com then expanded from the US to Hong Kong, where Tencent listed -- a trend Tiger Brokers has also tapped.
As of end-May 2018, the 33-month-old trading platform has recorded an aggregated turnover of Rmb1 trillion ($149.8 billion).
“With the fresh funding, we will continue to improve basic technology research and development, as well as reserve talent,” the broker said.
It also plans to develop a wider range of products, improve delivery and investor education, and build up an online community – ultimately targeting the development of a global tech-driven asset allocation platform.
“There are always unicorns standing out in every wave of basic technology and infrastructure upgrade,” Xinghua Zhao, managing director of Orient Hontai Capital, said. “Tiger is obviously one of them.”
