On August 24, the Beijing branch of the People's Bank of China published a public notice on major change approvals for non-bank payment institutions, giving the green light to Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. to appoint Yu Hao as a director, Xu Fang as the new head of compliance, and Deng Daquan as the new head of technology.
Earlier, on August 19, Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. (300773.SZ) announced that it had received the administrative licensing decision from the central bank's Beijing branch regarding the director change application. The approval allows Yu Hao to serve as a non-independent director on the company's fourth board of directors. His tenure, along with his role on the strategy committee, officially began on August 17, 2026—the date the central bank approved his qualifications—and will continue until the expiration of the fourth board's term.
Founded in 2005, Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. was among the first batch of third-party payment institutions to obtain the Payment Business License from the People's Bank of China in 2011. The company has also been expanding its global footprint and holds the central bank's approval for cross-border RMB payment services.
Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. operates through two primary business segments: digital payment services and technology services. The digital payment arm offers comprehensive, one-stop payment solutions covering online and offline B2C payments, B2B payments, cross-border transactions, and foreign card payments across various scenarios. Meanwhile, the technology services segment leverages artificial intelligence and blockchain to deliver industry-specific digital solutions and fintech services to small and micro merchants, corporate clients, and financial institutions.
On August 7, Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. released its first-half 2026 earnings report. During the reporting period, the company generated revenue of 3.257 billion yuan, up 22.86% year-on-year. Net profit attributable to shareholders of the listed company surged 191.67% to 669 million yuan. After excluding non-recurring gains and losses, net profit attributable to shareholders stood at 219 million yuan, representing a 50.28% increase from the prior year.
In the first half, revenue from technology services climbed 51.32% year-on-year to 213 million yuan, marking robust growth. Concurrently, digital payment business revenue rose 20.32% to 2.843 billion yuan, driven primarily by an increase in active merchants and higher payment transaction volumes. During the period, the company's domestic integrated acquiring transaction volume reached 2.25 trillion yuan, up 14.99% year-on-year.
Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. also accelerated its global payment infrastructure build-out during the first half. Cross-border payment and foreign card transaction volumes maintained strong upward momentum, growing 46.38% and 81.57% year-on-year, respectively.
According to the interim report, the substantial surge in net profit for the period was mainly attributable to improved profitability in the company's core operations, along with a significant year-on-year increase in investment income from the sale of shares in listed companies held by the firm.
It is also worth noting that Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in October 2025. However, that application lapsed in April of this year, and no further updates have been disclosed since. In an investor relations announcement from June, a shareholder inquired whether the company would continue pursuing a Hong Kong listing. Lakala Payment Co., Ltd. responded that the expiration of the prospectus is a standard step in the Hong Kong IPO process, and that the company will proceed based on market conditions and the review timeline, with material progress to be disclosed in a timely manner in accordance with disclosure obligations.
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