Alibaba, Lending Club team up to finance U.S. Purchases

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s wholesale marketplace is joining with U.S. peer-to-peer online lending company Lending Club Corp. to provide sales financing to small U.S. businesses buying from Chinese suppliers.

The move is the Chinese e-commerce giant’s BABA, +0.01% latest push to attract more U.S. businesses to the trading platform.

The tie-up allows U.S.-based businesses to apply for lines of credit of $5,000 to $300,000 from Lending Club LC, +2.61% to pay for goods from China-based suppliers on the trading platform Alibaba.com, according to a statement from both companies Tuesday.

The companies said Lending Club would offer financing over one to six months in terms based on the borrower’s cash flow. Monthly interest rates are from 0.5% to 2.4%. Lending Club will also vet suppliers and shipments.

San Francisco-based Lending Club connects borrowers with lenders in an online marketplace for a fee; it doesn’t actually lend any money itself. The company made a strong debut on the New York Stock Exchange in December that gave it a valuation in line with high-tech firms rather than the banks and financial companies it is seeking to displace.

Alibaba has sought to draw more global business buyers and sellers to its Alibaba.com online portal. The company’s major business is in China, where it runs the Taobao and Tmall online sales platforms.

Source: MarketWatch