The turnover of China's pawn industry is expected to rise to 80 billion yuan (10 billion U.S. dollars) this year, according to the Ministry of Commerce .

This was a rapid growth from a turnover of 70 billion yuan (8.75 billion dollars) last year, a source with the China Pawnbroking Union, told Xinhua on Wednesday. However, he declined to comment on possible reasons for the rise.

China has 2,052 registered pawnbrokers, employing 18,000 people. The industry's registered capital totaled 17 billion yuan (2.125 billion dollars).

Since the implementation in April last year of new rules, which set higher requirements for enterprises to enter the business, the pawnbroking industry had witnessed fast and healthy development, ministry spokesman Chong Quan said.

Chong said the industry was playing an increasingly important role in serving national economic development and helping small and medium-sized enterprises get quick financing at relatively low cost.

Pawnshops, often acknowledged as forerunners of the country's financial industry, appeared in China 1,700 years ago, but they were abolished after the founding of New China in 1949.

The country's first modern pawnshop opened in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, in 1987.

Source: Xinhua