Chinese supply chain fintech firm Linklogis has completed over US$220 million series C round of financing led by the Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund Government Investment Corporation (GIC), with participation from GLP, Skyworth, China Oceanwide and Welight.
Other investors including Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI), China’s internet giant Tencent, CITIC Capital, Loyal Valley Capital also participated in this round.
Founded in 2016, Shenzhen-based Linklogis specializes in supply chain finance, leveraging technologies like big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain to help solve financing difficulties for Chinese small and micro enterprises.
As of the end of 2016, small enterprises contributed to 60% of China’s gross domestic product (GDP), 80% of urban jobs and 50% of tax revenues. More than 50% of the country’s small enterprises, however, face difficulties securing financing from banks and other means. They often rely on high-interest private loans, which increases their operational costs and make them less competitive.
At the same time, Linklogis has entered the blockchain space. It teamed up with Tencent’s fintech team to jointly launch a financial blockchain platform named TrustSQL in April 2017 to provide enterprise-class blockchain infrastructure, industry solutions and blockchain cloud services.
Shortly after its inception, Linklogis received a nearly RMB100 million (US$14.44 million) series A round in August 2016 from Tencent, CITIC Capital and Loyal Valley Capital.
In August 2017, Linklogis secured a roughly RMB200 million (US$28.89 million) series B round of financing from Tencent, China Merchants Innovation Investment Management, Bertelsmann Asia Investments as well as the company’s shareholders CITIC Capital and Loyal Valley Capital.
The founder and CEO of Linklogis, Song Qun, previously served as the president of China Resources Bank and the general manager of HSBC’s trust agency services and global business. He also worked for investment banks including JP Morgan Chase Bank and Australia New Zealand Bank.