Zhejiang Province's first private commercial bank officially opened its business Wednesday in Hangzhou, the capital city of east China's Zhejiang Province. As the 12th joint-stock banks in the country, Zheshang Bank, opened with registered capital of more than 1.5 billion yuan (US$181.2 million).

Thirteen of the 15 shareholders in Zheshang Bank are private firms, accounting for 85.71 percent of total capital stock, said Cai Huiming, chairman of Zheshang Bank.

"That means the main business clients of Zheshang Bank will be private companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)," said Cai.

The three biggest shareholders each hold 10.34 percent of the total shares. They are the Zhejiang Traffic Investment Group, auto parts maker Wanxiang Group, and Traveler Auto Group.

The main advantage in the first development phase of Zheshang Bank lies in a market-oriented management mechanism, said Gong Fangle, the bank's president.

"It will be more flexible and efficient, taking full advantage of its indigenous background," Gong says.

The bank will launch a series of special transactions to favour most SMEs. The former "one-knife-cuts-all" approach of the central bank to local subsidiaries might not fit in Zhejiang's situation, where the private sector is the most developed.

Operating within the allowances of law and regulations, the bank will change unfair articles in bank contracts already existing in banks' systems and new articles will be stipulated according to clients' suggestions, Gong said.

"The Zheshang Bank will play a positive role in helping SMEs out of liquidity difficulties," said Chen Guoping, deputy Party secretary of Zhejiang Province.

Many SMEs in Zhejiang Province are badly in need of capital as banks have become excessively strict about lending operations owing to the banking regulator's tightening of lending policies as part of the State's efforts to cool down expansive investment and credit growth.

(China Daily August 19, 2004)