Pyramid crackdown
(China Daily)
Updated: 2006-09-25 16:23
Regulation changes
Banking regulators may further loosen rules on
foreign lenders dealing with renminbi business in response to claims by overseas
players that the draft rule is too restrictive.
The China Banking
Regulatory Commission (CBRC) and the Ministry of Commerce are likely to lower
the minimum amount a foreign bank branch can accept for a single local renminbi
deposit - originally set at 1 million yuan (US$125,000) - said a source from the
regulatory body, adding that the two sides had yet to decide the specific
amount.
The CBRC sent a draft version of the administrative rule on
foreign banks to regulatory bodies and a group of foreign and domestic lenders
for review in June.
China needs FDI
China still requires large
quantities of foreign direct investment in the coming years in order to sustain
its rapid economic growth, a high-ranking foreign trade official said last
week.
Chai Haitao, director of the Chinese Academy of International Trade
and Economic Co-operation, says that overseas investment, which last year
totalled US$72.4 billion, has brought China a host of advantages such as
capital, technology, jobs and improved skills.
New opportunities for
overseas investment in China should meet the needs of the domestic market, such
as the country's requirement for technological innovation, which is regarded as
vital to boosting competitiveness, says Chai.
Health care
boost
The government will bear a greater share of the costs for health
care and basic treatment, and redress imbalances in access to medical
services.
A blueprint for the implementation of the changes will be
worked out by a high-powered panel set up recently, says Yin Dakui, president of
the China Medical Doctor Association.
A long-standing grievance has been
that most Chinese do not have access to affordable health care while a
privileged few hog most of the resources, Yin says.
"The government must
consider the issue of fairness while formulating a new health policy; and it
must bear the cost of basic health care for all," Yin says, also a former vice
health minister.
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Ripe time for Shanghai Port 