Global diversification has become a flavor of the day for Chinese companies that grew up feasting on a fast-growing domestic economy that has become more challenging lately. But while many are still testing the waters, FinVolution Group (FINV.US), as one of China’s earliest fintech lenders to venture abroad, is already reaping significant business from its global gambit.
Since taking its first global step by establishing an Indonesian joint venture in 2018, FinVolution has grown its international operation to account for about a fifth of its revenue. It moved into the Philippines not long after Indonesia, and entered Pakistan last year, with plans to further boost its global footprint in the next few years.
But such gambits, aren’t without their own risks, especially on the regulatory front. FinVolution became keenly aware of that fact when Indonesia, its largest global market, made a sudden regulatory change in late 2023, causing that part of the company’s revenue growth to slow.