Tang Shuangning, vice chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, concluded at a Sino-Japan economic forum on October 9 that 19 overseas financial institutions hold stakes of 16 Chinese banks. Their investment totals some 16.5 billion USD.

Those Chinese banks with foreign capital include state-owned giants, joint stock banks and city commercial banks, which spread either in the east coastal areas or mid-west.

Tang divided the China-foreign banking cooperation into two phases. The first is focused on the business collaboration, such as borrowing, clearing and bill discounting services. In the second phase, foreign financial institutions hold shares of their Chinese peers. A single foreign entity can hold up to 20 percent of its Chinese partner while a consortium can hold as much as 25 percent.

By People's Daily Online