Privately funded banks to be launched

Ten private companies will launch five banks that are entirely funded by private capital in Tianjin, Shanghai, Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province as part of a pilot program, Shang Fulin, head of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, said Tuesday.

The establishment of the private banks, which was approved by the central government in January, is considered a vital step in the country's financial reform and its opening-up of the banking sector to private capital.

Internet giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group will be among the 10 companies approved to participate in the pilot program, Shang said, adding that the five private banks should have differentiated market positioning.

Shang did not provide details about the names of the five banks, or the amount invested in them.

The website of People's Daily quoted Shang as saying on Monday that the 10 companies will also include Fosun International, a real estate conglomerate, and Chint Electrics Co, an electrical equipment maker.

Each bank must have two private investors, Shang said, and they will be allowed to open for business when they have made sufficient preparations.

The private bank that Tencent plans to initiate will specialize in providing products for the burgeoning online finance sector, a staff member of Tencent told the Global Times Tuesday on condition of anonymity.

"Tencent will utilize its advantages in the Internet service industry, and [launch] online financial products based on the services provided by the traditional banking sector," the source said.

The staff member said the bank will be located in Qianhai, a district of Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province. Qianhai was approved by the State Council in 2010 as a test ground for the free cross-border flow of the yuan and financial innovations.

A staff member of Alibaba, which is a partner in Yu'ebao, one of the country's most popular online money market funds, told the Global Times Tuesday that Alibaba is working with China Wanxiang Holdings Co to apply for a private bank license.

"Now our application materials are still being reviewed," said the staff member, who wished to remain anonymous.

Wanxiang Holdings is part of China's biggest auto parts company Wanxiang Group, which is based in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province.

The Alibaba source declined to comment on the location or market positioning of the bank.

Dong Dengxin, director of the Finance and Securities Institute at Wuhan University of Science and Technology, told the Global Times Tuesday that the private banks will offer loans of up to 1 million yuan ($162,879) that will mature in less than two years.

The banks' major customers will be those that have difficulty in getting loans from large commercial banks, Dong said, such as small and micro-sized businesses. That is why the new program will not have a disruptive impact on the banking sector or influence the interest rate, he said.

According to Shang, the private banks will be regulated in the same way as large commercial banks, but their performance will be more market-based.

Milestones in opening up to private investment

May 23, 2012 The State Council required sectors including railways, telecoms and banking to draw up detailed rules for encouraging private investment.

May 26, 2012 The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said it would encourage greater private investment in the banking sector, without imposing restrictive or other additional conditions.

Jun 19, 2013 The State Council said China should set up private banks and financial lease companies that bear the burden of risk on their own.

Mar 11, 2014 CBRC chief Shang Fulin said China will set up five private banks on a trial basis.