WeLab becomes first homegrown player to get Hong Kong virtual banking license

Mobile lender WeLab has become the fourth - and first homegrown - applicant to be granted one of Hong Kong's new virtual banking licenses. The firm expects to launch its virtual bank within the next nine months after following Livi VB Limited, SC Digital Solutions Limited and ZhongAn Virtual Finance in securing a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Founded in 2013, WeLab operates in the B2B and B2C markets in Hong Kong but also has consumer finance operations in Mainland China and Indonesia. In 2017 the company scored a $220 million equity and debt financing round joined by blue chips such as Alibaba, Credit Suisse, and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation. Dutch giant ING is also an investor.