Finance for All.docVIP

Finance for All 　　Back in 2013 when Zhang Hui started a financial service company， he believed that such services should be targeted at more than just the elite―they should also benefit the majority of the population. That’s why he named his company Puhui Finance， meaning “inclusive finance” in Chinese. 　　China’s State Council， the cabinet， has also zeroed in on this concept by releasing a guideline in January asserting that an inclusive financial service system should be built in China by 2020. 　　The guideline states that more affordable and convenient financial services should be provided to small and micro businesses， farmers， low-income citizens， impoverished people and the elderly. 　　“Inclusive finance is putting the long-tail theory of economics into practice， providing financial services to 80 percent of the total population who’ve never enjoyed such services before. Thanks to the Internet， we are now able to meet their needs，” Zhang， CEO of Puhui Finance Information Service Co. Ltd.， told Beijing Review at the Boao Review Finance Innovation Forum held in Beijing on September 23. 　　The building of a more inclusive financial services market is progressing rapidly due to the support of the government and companies such as Zhang’s. 　　 Serving more people 　　First introduced to China in 2006， peer-topeer （P2P） lending has been a popular―if not volatile―method used to expand the reach of financial services. 　　According to W， a website which logs Internet-based lending information， there were altogether 2，349 ongoing P2P lending platforms at the end of June in China， with total outstanding loans amounting to 621 billion yuan （$92.5 billion）. Compared to the end of 2014， the two figures have surged by 49.1 percent and 499.7 percent， respectively. 　　However， with no market thresholds and no concrete operation standards， bankruptcies and the disappearances of P2P websites reminded people of the lurking risks of fraud and default. In September alone， 98 P2P