Qudian CEO's reflections, etc

Today, Luo Min published a blog piece, reflecting on his mishandling of the media and public relations. He acknowledged his immaturity, inexperience and ... arrogance. I love the piece, and rate him 10 out of 10.

Qudian has rolled out a new line of business, selling cars and lending to car buyers, at lightening speed, once again demonstrating its unrivaled execution capabilities. Its earnings in 2018 may be a touch weaker than previously forecast. But who knows: it may surprise the market on the upside. A brilliant team remains intact. Market expectations of Qudian are very low any way. Most importantly, it is in full compliance with the new regulations.

**     I drank tea recently with the CEO of Paipaidai, Cliff Zhang. He was on top of the new regulations and the company was dealing with them in a structured way. He was calm, radiating confidence.

**  Last week, the regulators hosted a seminar in Beijing with key industry executives and some regional regulators. The key takeaway I gleaned from it was this: The new regulations are indeed an overkill but the regulators are primarily concerned with two issues and not much else. The two issues are the 36% interest rate cap, and the rough debt-collection tactics. I think the regulators will allow some leeway on the interest rate front when it comes to very short-term lending. Some people suggest that an annual fee or membership fee on the short-term borrowers may be allowed. The bottom line: the regulations may be flexibly implemented.

The sky has not fallen on China's online lending sector, after all.