ByteDance Obtains Payment Business License

Chinese internet giant ByteDance has completed its acquisition of a payment business license, completing the last pillar of its ownership of a full range of digital payment business licenses in China, which will allow it to conduct various forms of financial services. At the time being, only a limited amount of third-party payment business licenses exist in the Chinese fin-tech market as the central bank stopped issuing new licenses around 2016. ByteDance had previously obtained financial licenses for small online loans, insurance brokerage, and securities investments.

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According to Chinese corporate database Qichacha, Wuhan Hezhong Yibao Technology Co., Ltd. has completed the change of its registered information, as Tianjin Tongrong E-commerce Co., Ltd. has become its controlling shareholder, owning 100% of the shares. The actual controller of Tongrong E-commerce is Zhang Yiming, founder and CEO of ByteDance.

Obtaining payment business licenses through a mega-acquisition deal with small companies has become a common practice among Chinese internet giants. In recent years, companies including Meituan Dianping, Evergrande, Xiaomi, and Didi Chuxing have all made this move to accelerate the development of their payment business.

Tianjin Tongrong E-commerce Co., Ltd. is wholly owned by Beijing Shibei Technology Co., Ltd., which is actually controlled by Zhang Yiming, with a 99% share. After the change was completed, Zhang Yiming realized absolute control of Wuhan Hezhong Yibao. The two sides established cooperation in 2018, with services provided by Hezhong Yibao available through an array of ByteDance’s Platforms such as Toutiao, Douyin, Volcano Video, Pipixia, and Duoshan.

Tianjin Tongrong E-commerce Co., Ltd. is wholly owned by Beijing Shibei Technology Co., Ltd., which is actually controlled by Zhang Yiming, with a 99% share. After the change was completed, Zhang Yiming realized absolute control of Wuhan Hezhong Yibao. The two sides established cooperation in 2018, with services provided by Hezhong Yibao available through an array of ByteDance’s Platforms such as Toutiao, Douyin, Volcano Video, Pipixia, and Duoshan.