(Yicai Global) Sept. 11 -- Total online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending transactions in China has reached CNY5.3 trillion (USD816 billion) by the end of August, said an industry portal. Majority of investors maintain confidence in the sector as well as its development and believe online lending industry has big potential for further growth.

China's first P2P Internet loan financial industry portal wdzj.com released the P2P internet loan industry monthly report for August 2017. The P2P online industry transactions in August amounted to CNY249.5 billion, a decline of 1.6 percent from the month earlier, with the industry comprehensive yield reaching 9.5 percent. However, the total volume of transactions since the inception of the industry hit CNY5.3 trillion, doubling in one year. The number of active borrowers also exceeded that of investors for the first time in 10 years, Investor Journal Weekly reported today.

The number of active investors and borrowers in P2P online lending industry in August were 4.47 million and 4.5 million, respectively.

Last month, Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai ranked top three in China in terms of online loans volume with turnovers of CNY64.2 billion, CNY60 billion and CNY53.3 billion, respectively.

However, by the end of August this year, some 65 percent of the online lending platforms closed or had problems such as Ponzi schemes and cash difficulties, creating uncertainties and risks for the industry.