制卧价贸易上兰 金融英语阅读 Supplementary Reading Banks open to increased foreign investment China has taken an important step towards receiving more foreign investment in its banking sector,giving big-name overseas lenders such as Citigroup a shot in the arm.Liu Mingkang,chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission,the country's banking watchdog,announced recently that the investment cap for a single overseas investor in a domestic lender had been raised to 20 percent.Local banks are also now allowed to sell up to 25 percent of their shares to overseas investors. "Foreign banks can expand rapidly in the market through equity investment,"said him."Chinese banks will benefit as they will learn more advanced technology and management expertise."The chief banking regulator called the policy changes "historic steps"in the opening-up of the country's finance industry. These changes will enable oversea banks to become single largest shareowners in local lenders.Furthermore,the policy changes would allow foreign investors easier access to Chinese currency business."The move will fuel expansion of foreign banks in the domestic market,"says analyst Wu Qi of Hemoo Investment and Business Consulting.It will also help reinvigorate domestic banks.According to China's commitment to the WTO,foreign banks will not be able to offer RMB business to Chinese citizens until 2006.China currently allows overseas lender to offer RMB services only to corporate clients.A flood of foreign banks has already shown keen interest in domestic lenders.Analysts say the waiving of rules would add spice to the race for buying shares of domestic counterparts. However,industry officials predict that it will take some time before any deals materialize.Foreign investors will not take an aggressive step unless they are convinced that the domestic banks are profitable.Foreign banks are unlikely to strike a deal anytime soon.The fast growing Chinese economy,which expanded 9.1 percent in the third quarter of 2003,has provided a boon for the banks as companies and consumers continue borrowing.Amid a buying spree for apartments and cars,Chinese banks extended consumer loans worth 359 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2004,seven billion yuan more than previous year's total.However,investment returns are not necessarily the foreign lenders'top concern.To make inroads into the world's most populous country,foreign banks need to build up a huge nationwide network.To date foreign banks have only less than 200 outlets on the Chinese mainland. Geographical limits have in the past been a key factor in preventing the fast expansion of foreign lenders.Currently,foreign banks can offer corporate renminbi business in about 20 cities,to name a few-Shanghai,Shenzhen,Tianjin,Nanjing,etc. the unruly growth of Chinese banks has also largely outshone that of their overseas rivals.Five domestic banks have increased their capital bases this year by selling stakes and issuing bonds to expand their presence across the country.The foreign currency deposit business provides a classic example.In 2001,the outstanding value of forex deposits in overseas banks represented 15 percent of the country's total.The proportion has now dipped to a much lower level.Despite growing at a rate of 29.7 percent from the previous year,the total assets of overseas banks on China's mainland were valued at US 46.6 billion as of October 2003.Chinese banks are rushing to 第1页共2页金融英语阅读 Supplementary Reading Banks open to increased foreign investment China has taken an important step towards receiving more foreign investment in its banking sector, giving big-name overseas lenders such as Citigroup a shot in the arm. Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the country’s banking watchdog, announced recently that the investment cap for a single overseas investor in a domestic lender had been raised to 20 percent. Local banks are also now allowed to sell up to 25 percent of their shares to overseas investors. “Foreign banks can expand rapidly in the market through equity investment,” said him. “ Chinese banks will benefit as they will learn more advanced technology and management expertise.” The chief banking regulator called the policy changes “ historic steps” in the opening-up of the country’s finance industry. These changes will enable oversea banks to become single largest shareowners in local lenders. Furthermore, the policy changes would allow foreign investors easier access to Chinese currency business. “ The move will fuel expansion of foreign banks in the domestic market,” says analyst Wu Qi of Hemoo Investment and Business Consulting. It will also help reinvigorate domestic banks. According to China’s commitment to the WTO, foreign banks will not be able to offer RMB business to Chinese citizens until 2006. China currently allows overseas lender to offer RMB services only to corporate clients. A flood of foreign banks has already shown keen interest in domestic lenders. Analysts say the waiving of rules would add spice to the race for buying shares of domestic counterparts. However, industry officials predict that it will take some time before any deals materialize. Foreign investors will not take an aggressive step unless they are convinced that the domestic banks are profitable. Foreign banks are unlikely to strike a deal anytime soon. The fast growing Chinese economy, which expanded 9.1 percent in the third quarter of 2003, has provided a boon for the banks as companies and consumers continue borrowing. Amid a buying spree for apartments and cars, Chinese banks extended consumer loans worth 359 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2004, seven billion yuan more than previous year’s total. However, investment returns are not necessarily the foreign lenders’ top concern. To make inroads into the world’s most populous country, foreign banks need to build up a huge nationwide network. To date foreign banks have only less than 200 outlets on the Chinese mainland. Geographical limits have in the past been a key factor in preventing the fast expansion of foreign lenders. Currently, foreign banks can offer corporate renminbi business in about 20 cities, to name a few-Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin, Nanjing, etc. the unruly growth of Chinese banks has also largely outshone that of their overseas rivals. Five domestic banks have increased their capital bases this year by selling stakes and issuing bonds to expand their presence across the country. The foreign currency deposit business provides a classic example. In 2001, the outstanding value of forex deposits in overseas banks represented 15 percent of the country’s total. The proportion has now dipped to a much lower level. Despite growing at a rate of 29.7 percent from the previous year, the total assets of overseas banks on China’s mainland were valued at US $ 46.6 billion as of October 2003. Chinese banks are rushing to 第 1 页 共 2 页