Biz Builder Mike

You can't sail Today's boat on Yesterdays wind - Michael Noel

China: WeiyangX Fintech Review

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CBIRC: Increasing Efforts to Crack Down on New Types of Illegal Commercial Insurance Activities

Recently, the Anti-Illegal Financial Activities Bureau of China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) published an article entitled “Analysis of Illegal Commercial Insurance Activities and Regulatory Suggestions” in “Observation of Insurance Risk”.

As noted in the article, with the advancement of internet technology and third-party payment in recent years, the technical threshold for the establishment of related websites and APP platforms has been greatly reduced. This has led to the rapid development of illegal commercial insurance, and many third-party network platforms of information technology intermediary services are engaged in illegal insurance intermediary businesses. Therefore, in order to better protect the consumers, the article called for clarifying the regulatory body and regulatory standards for these new types of illegal online businesses in the future. (Source: Observation of Insurance Risk)

China’s Digital Economy Reaches ¥35.8 Trillion in 2019

On September 10th, the Cyberspace Administration of China released the “Report of Digital China Development (2019)”.

According to the report, China’s digital economy registered ¥35.8 trillion ($5.07 trillion) in 2019, accounting for 36.2% of China’s GDP and 67.7% of GDP growth.

The structure of the digital economy continues to be optimized and upgraded, and the added value of industrial digitalization accounts for 80.2% of the digital economy. (Source: Cyberspace Administration of China)

Jniu Technology Completes ¥35 million Pre-A Round of Financing

On September 11th, smart insurance brokerage service provider, Jniu Technology, was reported to have secured a ¥35 million Pre-A round of financing. The investment was provided by Sequoia Capital China and Eminence Ventures.

Established in 2019, Jniu empowers traditional life insurance companies’ personal insurance and insurance intermediary markets through agent operations, and help establish digital operating systems, distribution systems and supply-chain capabilities. (Source: ebrun)

Lithuania Plans to Establish Bilateral Fintech Cooperation with Hainan Province

On September 9th, an academic seminar themed “China-Europe Digital Securities and Open Finance” was held in Hainan Resort Software Community (RSC). Officers from Hainan RSC introduced the development of the park and related policies of Hainan Free Trade Port.

The Hainan FTP will offer zero tariffs, low tax rates, simplified taxation and other policy supports for trade, investment, cross-border capital flows, transportation, and safe and orderly flow of data.

Sankauskas Andrius, Senior Commercial Counselor of the Republic of Lithuania in China, said that this is in line with the EU’s policy and the cooperation between the two sides will have a more consistent policy environment.

In April 2021, Lithuania will lead global fintech companies to come to Hainan to participate in the “Hainan Fintech Week”, and plan to establish a bilateral fintech cooperation relationship between Lithuania and Hainan. (Source: Hainan Daily)

The above is a weekly synopsis of the biggest stories on Fintech in China provided by WeiyangX, part of Tsinghua University, in partnership with Crowdfund Insider.

WeiyangX is the most influential website focusing on Fintech in China. The site covers the latest news, industry data analysis, business practices, and in-depth Fintech cases in Fintech. WeiyangX is incubated by Fintech Lab. Founded by Tsinghua University’s People’s Bank of China (PBC) School of Finance in 2012, the Fintech Lab is the first and leading research entity dedicated to leading best practices, promoting interdisciplinary innovation, and encouraging entrepreneurship in the field of fintech through scientific research and innovative project incubation.

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Amazfit Raises $3.3M on Indiegogo by Connecting Health with Technology

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Amazfit is on a mission to help people improve their health with technology, and they’ve recently used crowdfunding to launch two wearables: The Amazfit X smartwatch that monitors overall fitness and provides easy-to-understand health recommendations. The Amazfit ZenBuds are lightweight, noise-cancelling earbuds that can be comfortably worn all night long. The campaigns have raised over $3.3M collectively, inspiring both the Amazfit team and their crowdfunding backers to create a healthier world with technology. 

Wearables designed by health experts

Amazfit’s story began 2013, when it was founded on a noble mission: “Connect health with technology.” The company set out to build biometric and bioanalytic technology and establish a global health ecosystem, and has since become one of the largest wearable manufacturers in the world.

Amazfit really wanted health to be the focus of their brand, so they hired a team of medical experts to help build and oversee their products, to ensure that wearables would measure the right things and offer sound medical advice. “Ninety percent of our medical expert team has a doctorate degree,” says Amazfit. “It’s what helps to distinguish us from other makers of wearable technology.”

“All of our smartwatches give you a reading that we call PAI: Personal Activity Intelligence. It takes all of your different fitness metrics into account and gives you a single number to help you understand your overall health,” says Amazfit. “We want to visualize the data that the biometric sensors capture and translate it into something useful and straightforward.”

The brand, which is headquartered in China, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and has shipped over 100 million devices internationally since its founding. But despite their global reach, Amazfit isn’t very well known in the United States. Crowdfunding has been their chance to raise awareness and build an ecosystem of products and users in North America. 

“The brand doesn’t have enough exposure that we need in the US market,” Amazfit says. “But challenges are oftentimes opportunities. It’s a chance to share our company vision with a whole new group of people.”

The Amazfit X is one of their Indiegogo campaigns, and it has raised $2M on Indiegogo

Two amazing Amazfit products on one crowdfunding platform

Amazfit doesn’t do things by half measures. So when they decided to use crowdfunding to build a community in the United States, they did it with not one, but two campaigns. They unveiled multiple wearables at CES 2020 in Las Vegas, and then launched two of them on Indiegogo. 

The Amazfit X Curved Smartwatch is as beautiful as it is functional. The watch, which tracks heart rate, fitness activities, sleep quality, blood oxygen levels, and more, has a design that curves elegantly around the wearer’s wrist. “Everything on the watch is curved, even the battery,” says Amazfit. The battery, in fact, is what helps to set the Amazfit X apart: It can last up to seven days on a single charge. “Thanks to our own algorithm, AI chip and biometric sensors, we can make sure the data is accurate while consuming less battery,” says their spokesperson. 

The Amazfit X is also competitively priced for the number of features it includes. “You can’t find anything at a comparable price with this many features” says Amazfit. The Amazfit X also has a customizable, always-on display, making it the ultimate fitness companion.

Amazfit’s other crowdfunding campaign is for the Amazfit ZenBuds, a pair of lightweight sleeping earbuds that block noise, play soothing sounds, and monitor sleep. The ZenBuds are designed to be worn comfortably all night to help to trigger and deepen sleep cycles. They can also be worn during the day to help users drown out distractions and cultivate focus.

“We pay a lot of attention to feedback, because necessity is the heart of innovation. We make these products to solve health problems, and a lot of our users have reported that they are struggling with sleep,” the tech company says. “And there really isn’t any other product like the ZenBuds on the market.”

The Amazfit ZenBuds has raised over $1.3M on Indiegogo

Using crowdfunding to get inspired

Amazfit chose to launch these two products via crowdfunding because they wanted to get early feedback that could help them tweak the product. “The two products we launched on Indiegogo are relatively new in the industry. We wanted to choose products that were in production but not finished yet, because the feedback we’d get from backers would give us a chance to improve them,” explains Amazfit.

The Amazfit team have focused on engaging with community to get the exposure and feedback they need. “Building trust with backers is quite important with crowdfunding,” the company says. “We tell the story of who we are as an established brand and display pictures and videos of our factory.”

“We focus on maintaining relationships,” says Amazfit. “We’ve received a lot of funds and have 20K backers around the world. Those relationships don’t end when the crowdfunding campaign ends. They continue. We always want to make sure there’s a way for backers to reach out to us.”

Amazfit X and ZenBuds have been extremely popular on Indiegogo, collectively raising over $3M. “The results have been surprising to the team. The campaigns significantly surpassed our internal goals. The team is working extra hours to make sure we can deliver on time. We’re going to ship in batches instead of all at once.”

“Crowdfunding is a good way to build brand awareness. We’ve used it to get press coverage and find influencers. Our campaigns have let us show a new audience that our wearables are good for health,” says Amazfit.

Their campaigns have also indicated interest in these innovative new devices, and the team has found the response exhilarating. “The campaigns have shown demand,” says Amazfit. “But connecting with all of these backers? It’s inspired the team to create better products.”

To support the Amazfit campaigns, check out the campaign pages for Amazfit X and ZenBuds. 

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The Fed Demands Higher Inflation

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For a while now, it’s been clear that the Fed wants higher inflation.

Now it’s finally starting to admit it. Here’s an excerpt from CNBC’s article this week titled “The Fed is expected to make a major commitment to ramping up inflation soon:”

“In the next few months, the Federal Reserve will be solidifying a policy outline that would commit it to low rates for years as it pursues an agenda of higher inflation and a return to the full employment picture that vanished as the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Recent statements from Fed officials and analysis from market veterans and economists point to a move to “average inflation” targeting in which inflation above the central bank’s usual 2% target would be tolerated and even desired.”

In essence, the Fed is arguing that because inflation has been so low over the past decade or so, they can “make up” for those lost price increases going forward.

The Fed’s justification for higher inflation is shaky at best. Here’s how CNBC explains it.

“The Fed and other global central banks have been trying to gin up inflation for years under the reasoning that a low level of price appreciation is healthy for a growing economy.” 

So the “official” explanation is that higher inflation is good for the economy. Seems strange, doesn’t it? Higher prices are horrible for the average person. It’s an invisible tax that erodes savings and hampers financial performance.

But inflation does have one very specific “benefit” for the economy. Inflation will help wipe away the huge amounts of debt we’ve built up over the last few decades. It will help corporations, governments, and individuals who borrowed too much deal with their debt problems. 

I think that’s the real reason they want more inflation.

Will They Succeed?

The big question is this: can the Fed achieve the level of inflation it desires? Many investors are skeptical that they can. Just one year ago, the cover story for Bloomberg Businessweek was “Is Inflation Dead?”

Bloomberg Businessweek "Is Inflation Dead?" Cover

The Economist ran a similar article last year — subtitled “The end of inflation?” — which seemed to argue that inflation used to be a problem, but is no longer relevant today.

The problem is that analyses like these rely on official inflation data. But many of us believe that inflation today is much higher than official Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers say. John Williams, an econ PhD who operates ShadowStats.com, offers an alternative measure of inflation. He simply uses the same methodologies that the U.S. government did in 1980 and 1990. His 1980-based measure shows inflation could be as high as 8% today. And the 1990-based version shows around 4% annual inflation.

The measuring stick the government uses for inflation has changed a lot over the past decades. And every change seems to only result in lower numbers.   In my view, it’s likely that inflation is already far too high. Just take a look at the long-term rise in healthcare costs, education and housing. Inflation is all around us.

Another thing we have to account for is the current trade war with China. Cheap imports from China have helped keep prices down significantly. If the trade spat continues to escalate, consumer prices will likely rise.

So yes, I believe the Fed has already succeeded in creating significant inflation. And it’s now openly discussing plans to make it even higher.

The investment world is slowly reacting to these trends. That’s why gold just hit an all-time high over $2,000 and silver is up 58% this year. It’s almost certainly why bitcoin is breaking out and is currently trading at close to $11,900. 

A Sustainable Trend

Loose monetary policy by the Fed and other central banks is what’s driving these assets higher. I believe it will continue for 10 years — maybe longer. This is why I’ve been pounding the table on precious metals and other alternatives. There are no other investments in the world with such a strong fundamental bull case.

I expect these assets will continue to outperform for years to come. This is not some quick trade for me. It’s a 5-to-10 year plan. I don’t think the Fed will be able to raise rates — or stop printing money — for at least that long.

So while precious metals and bitcoin have done quite well over the last year, I think we’re just getting started. Needless to say, there will be dips (buying opportunities) along the way. But I’m betting that the trend remains higher for years to come.

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