阿里联手美国P2P巨头助美企采购中国零部件

阿里联手美国P2P巨头助美企采购中国零部件The companies behind two of the hottest stock market debuts of 2014, Lendi ng Club and theAlibaba Group, are teaming up—to help Americancompaniesbuy parts from Chinese manufacturers.The two announced on Tuesday that they wouldform a partnership to provid e financing formanufacturers in the United States to buyproducts and suppli es through the Chinesemarketplace . Through Lending Club,the g iant of the online marketplace lendingindustry, those companies can line up fr om $5,000 to as much as $300,000 for each purchase order.It’s an unusual move meant in part to replace traditional business supply -chainborrowing, at least for the small- to medium-size businesses that look to Alibaba for a portion of their manufacturing. Rather than have to rely on banks or other traditional lenders who require collateral for their financing , these customers can instead useLending Club’s systems to procure an uns ecured loan with near-instant approval.“This partnership is going to make a pretty big difference in terms of U.S. bu siness’abilityto buy goods from China,”Renaud Laplanche, the chief executi ve of Lending Club, said ina telephone interview.And it is a unifying of two of the most talked-about online marketplaces of th e moment.Alibaba is one of China’s biggest Internet companies, whose multi ple platforms—, which is meant for wholesale purchases—draw millions of customers. AndLending Club helped define what once was known as peer-to-peer lending, in which potential investors can go onli ne to be matched with hopeful borrowers.The loans for the new venture, to be called“ e-Credit Line, Pow ered byLending Club,”comes at lower interest rates than what others can pro vide. According toMr. Laplanche, the new venture offers a monthly interest r ate starting at 0.5 percent,about half of what a more traditional lender coul d provide.But unlike more traditional manufacturing financing options, such as“facto ring,”the loansaren’t backed by particular assets.Alibaba had begun searching for a lending partner several months ago, eve ntually reaching out to both traditional banks and newer market-based lend ers. After whatamounted to a lengthy audition process, including trips to Ali baba’s offices in China, theChinese e-commerce giant ultimately chose to g o with Lending Club.“First of all, they are also a platform business,”Michael Lee, ’s global marketing and business development director, said in a telephone int erview, adding thatcustomers had asked for an simple financing solution f or some time.“They are also very transparent with their rate and the way they do business . And they got good feedbackfrom their own users.”For Alibaba, according to Mr. Lee, the hope is that customers will use such fi nancing tomake orders at least once a year. And if the system proves as eas y to use as both sideshope, it could help convince more American businesse s to order from moreoften.For Lending Club, the move is meant to help further a move into new kinds o f lending.Though it began life by offering debt consolidation loans to help p ay off credit cards, thecompany has pushed to enter new kinds of financing , including elective surgicalprocedures and small-business loans.Last month, the company formed a similar kind of partnership with Google, o ffering a wayfor businesses that resell the American technology giant’s servic es to gain low-cost financing.“It’s showcasing Lending Club’s unique ability to provide financing for the n ew economy,”Mr. Laplanche said.跻身2014年最热门上市事件之列的两家公司——Lending Club和阿里巴巴集团——正在展开合作，以帮助美国企业从中国的生产商那里采购零部件。

双方周二宣布将成立合作平台，为美国的生产商提供融资，帮助它们在中国的市场上购买产品和进行补给。

通过在线市场借贷行业的巨头Lending Club，各家企业可以为每笔订单筹集5000至30万美元（约合3.1万至190万元人民币）不等的资金。

此举出人意料，一定程度上是为了取代传统的企业供应链借贷，至少对那些部分生产指望阿里巴巴的中小型企业来说如此。

它们可以利用Lending Club的系统获得无担保贷款，并且几乎立即就能获批，而不用依赖银行或其他传统借贷机构。

在提供融资时，传统机构一般要求对方进行抵押担保。

“这一合作关系，将让美国企业从中国采购商品的能力取得相当大的提升，”Lending Club的首席执行官雷诺·拉普朗什(Renaud Laplanche)在接受电话采访时表示。

这也是当下最为外界热议的两家在线平台的联手。

阿里巴巴是中国最大的互联网企业之一，旗下拥有多个平台——包括主要面向批发生意的——吸引了数以百万计的客户。

Lending Club则参与建立了一度被称作“个人对个人”的借贷模式。

在这种模式中，潜在投资者可以通过上网来寻找与自己匹配的潜在借款方。

名为“ e-Credit Line, Powered by Lending Club”的这座新平台提供的贷款利率低于其他机构。

据拉普朗什介绍，该平台的月利率最低为0.5%，大约是传统借贷机构的一半。

不过，与“保理”等较为传统的制造业融资选项不同，这些贷款不会有特定资产担保。

阿里巴巴几个月前开始寻找从事贷款业务的合作伙伴，对传统的银行和基于市场的新兴贷款机构都进行了接触。

经过了相当于漫长面试的一个过程，包括几次走访阿里巴巴的中国办公室，Lending Club最终被选为与这家中国电商巨头联手的伙伴。

“首先，他们也是一家平台型企业，”阿里巴巴的全球营销与业务开发总监迈克尔·李(Michael Lee)在接受电话采访时说。

他还表示，一段时间以来，客户一直在寻求一个简单的融资解决方案。