Peer to Peer Lending Industry in China and Its Implication on Economic Indicators: Testing the Mediating Impact of SMEs Performance

Abstract

This papers studies and analyses the development and current status of Financial Technology (FinTech) industry and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending industry in the People’s Republic of China (mainland China), and then investigates the impact of the P2P industry on development of Chinese Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) as well as selected economic indicators. Due to the fact that Fintech and more particularly P2P industry is a recent phenomenon, secondary data was collected for 2014 to 2019 from government data sources and company’s websites. The results of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis indicate the significant impact of P2P lending industry on the economic indicators with mediating impact of SMEs performance. The finding shed light on the financing difficulties faced by SMEs and the role of P2P industry to bridge this gap which have implications for government policies and financial institutions.