China to continue widening access to banking sector

Praises Alibaba tie-up with China Minsheng.

Zhou Xiaochuan, Governor of the People's Bank of China, the central bank, is promoting a wider role for private sector to develop China’s banking sector currently dominated by huge state-owned banks criticized for their refusal to lend to small businesses.

Zhou called for more private-sector financing. PBOC wants to moderately widen market access to the banking sector by supporting the establishment of private banks; boosting the development of micro-credit companies and encouraging Internet and mobile-phone banking.

China wants to open the banking sector wider to private capital, including Internet firms to improve financial services to smaller companies. Alibaba yesterday signed a strategic tie-up with China Minsheng Banking, a move that integrates traditional financial services with Internet technology. China Minsheng is China’s largest privately owned bank.

China Minsheng said it would sell wealth management products through Alibaba; place online a direct-sale shop on Taobao, Alibaba's business-to-customer platform and develop information-technology solutions for banking services together with Alibaba.