Wednesday, June 18, 2003
China mulls auto financing rules 18 months after WTO entry
Agence France-Presse Beijing, June 18
China's banking watchdog said on Wednesday it plans to issue long-awaited regulations on auto financing, possibly opening up the business to foreign companies.
The rules are among the priority tasks for the newly-established China Banking Regulatory Commission, the commission said on its website, without giving a timetable.
China was supposed to open auto financing to foreigners immediately after it became a World Trade Organization member on December 11, 2001, but 18 months later foreign companies are still waiting.
Auto giants such as General Motors Corp, Ford Motor Co and Volkswagen AG are among the companies expected to start offering car loans once the rules are in place.
Chinese authorities have allowed a series of local banks to engage in auto financing in recent months, giving them a head-start over foreign competitors.
Draft rules on auto financing, including an unusually high capital requirement of 500 million yuan ($60 million), surprised industry insiders when they started circulating last year.
Auto financing is just one of many items on the banking commission's agenda. According to the China Daily newspaper, the commission plans "urgently needed" regulations on issues ranging from bank service charges, to financial derivatives, market risk supervision and capital adequacy management.
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