Banker-turned Mayor Vows to Boost Banking Industry in Tianjin

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, March 29, 2003

Banker-turned Mayor Vows to Boost Banking Industry in Tianjin

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Dai Xianglong, the former governor of China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, has pledged to bolster the development of the banking industry in Tianjin in a bid to stimulate the local economy in this north China port city.

Dai, now mayor of Tianjin, compared Tianjin with Beijing, the national capital, and Shanghai, China's financial center, in termsof the cities' respective banking sectors, at a recent workshop held in the city.

In 2002, banks and insurance companies earned 48.5 billion yuanand 58.5 billion yuan, respectively, for Beijing and Shanghai, contributing 15.5 percent and 10.8 percent to the respective GDP of the two cities, while Tianjin's banking industry only brought in 7.06 billion yuan, or 3.5 percent of its GDP.

To achieve its goal of becoming a modern port city and a major financial center in north China, Tianjin must boost its banking industry, said the mayor.

According to Dai, who took over the mayoral post a few months ago, Tianjin plans to invest 100 billion yuan in infrastructure development this year, up 20 percent from the previous year.

The city will develop and improve the local banking industry and make efforts to reduce the percentage of non-performing loans to less than 10 percent in two years, Dai said, adding that efforts will also be made to attract overseas banks to open branches in the city.

He said that the city will apply for authorization to establisha new bank, known as Binhai (Coastal) Development Bank.

Tianjin needs 700 billion yuan in investment in the next five years, and one-third of it could count on its own resources, Dai noted.

He said he hopes that the city will earn more revenue through restructuring and developing local industries, listing more local companies on the stock market and encouraging private investment.

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