China capable of financing reforms of state-owned commercial banks: minister

Finance Minister Jin Renqing said Wednesday China is capable of financing reforms of its state-owned commercial banks.

"We have to pay for the transformation of state-owned banks into joint-stock banks and their asset reshuffle, and the Treasury is ready to foot the bill," Jin said at a press conference on the sidelines of the ongoing annual parliament session.

Jin said the Finance Ministry has issued 270 billion yuan (32.5 billion US dollars) of treasury bonds to boost the banking sector, and will probably finance the separation of an additional 1.4 trillion yuan (168 billion US dollars) of non-performing assets from state-owned banks.

The finance department may also adopt preferential tax policies to support the banks' joint-stock reform, either by allowing the banks to dispose of some non-performing assets before tax payment, or returning to them some of the income tax proceeds. "Whatever measures to be taken depends on the future financial situation," he said.

The Chinese government has spent 45 billion US dollars of its foreign exchange reserves to bolster the balance sheets of state-owned Bank of China (BOC) and China Construction Bank (CCB).

Governor Zhou Xiaochuan of the People's Bank of China, or the central bank, said on Monday the share-offerings and listings of BOC and CCB are "not too far away."