Chinese Approves Private Banking Pilot Plan:
China has approved a pilot scheme allowing the setting up of three to five private banks, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said on Monday, in a step to boost financial support for cash-starved smaller firms.
The CBRC would maintain “prudential regulatory standards” in approving private banks, it said in a statement following a meeting on banking supervision.
Chinese leaders have pledged to open up the banking sector, now dominated by big state-owned lenders, to private investors to help boost competition and increase lending to small firms, who are often neglected by the big banks.
Retailer Suning Commerce Group and the Internet giant Tencent Holdings are among firms keen to establish private banks.
The banking regulator also said it would take steps to rein in banking risks in 2014, and reiterated that it would take measures to resolve risks linked to local government financing vehicles and tighten rules on wealth management products.
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Chinese Mobile Travel Bookings on the Rise:
Beijing based travel website Qunar reported on Jan. 3 that its mobile application accounted for 50 percent of its total hotel bookings, while air-ticket bookings reached a record over the New Year holiday. Competitor Ctrip had said in November that 30 percent of its hotel bookings came from mobile devices.
“The market certainly reacted to Qunar’s data, which show the company’s mobile users have risen,” Tian X. Hou, the founder of T.H. Capital LLC, said by phone in New York Dec. 3. “China’s travel market has just started to boom and both companies will ride the tide.”
China’s Lunar New Year holiday begins January 31and should be the next key indicator for the two companies of travel demand.
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Due to the Holidays, Local Broker Insight will return next week.
For more information about investing into China, KraneShares or KraneShares’ ETFs please contact Brendan Ahern at [email protected] or +1.650.866.9975.
Brendan Ahern | www.kraneshares.com | Managing Director
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