By Karry Lai, Asia reporter 

Online lending companies are facing a number of issues when planning an initial public offering in Greater China and the US, according to panelists at last week’s IFLR Fintech Asia conference in Hong Kong. Regulators’ attitudes towards business models, accounting requirements and risk reserves are issues companies need to be mindful of.

Online lending companies in China are increasingly looking to do listings in the PRC but regulators fear that the sector may pose risks for consumers. The Asian giant has seen a wave of regulations targeting peer-to-peer (P2P) lending in the past two years.

"P2P lending has a relatively short history in China," JunHe partner Sun Xiaojia told delegates. "Back in 2015, regulators expressed the lack of regulation in China, but in the past two years, regulatory development has been happening fast and the compliance requirements and costs for platforms...