Home Credit Group, a consumer finance provider from the Czech Republic, announced it will be the first foreign company to directly lend to Chinese consumers, the Financial Times reported. After receiving a license from China’s banking regulator, the company launched a pilot program in Tianjin on Monday allowing people to apply for small loans to buy products like mobile phones or motorbikes. The firm is targeting the 700 million Chinese consumers whose salaries are below US$500 a month, many of them with no credit history and may have never opened a bank account. Home Credit – the largest consumer finance group in Russia with operations in Eastern Europe – has been in China since February 2008 and has built up a network of retail stores offering credit products. But it was restricted by Chinese regulations such as a requirement to partner with local institutions.
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