China's central bank has been preparing to establish the country's first credit management authority, the State Credit Bureau, the Beijing Business reported Wednesday.

Experian, one of the world's three largest credit reference agencies headquartered in the United Kingdom, will provide technical support and consulting services about the construction of the database and relevant data management for the central bank, Harker John, chief executive officer for Experian Asia-Pacific said Wednesday at a symposium on the management of credit risks and decision making.

He said that the cooperation between the People's Bank of China and international credit check institutions like Experian have lasted more than four years.

A sound credit system will assist commercial banks to better control their business risks, slash their non-performing debts and reduce their operation costs, he said at the symposium sponsored by Experian and the China Association of Banks.

Experian statistics revealed that the decision-making cost of banks may plummet 80 percent if the whole process is based on a computerized database, he added.

With only 200 credit check companies, most of whom are small start-ups, China's credit management industry is still in early stages and has great market potential, the newspaper said.

Neither Experian nor the central bank disclosed when the State Credit Bureau will open.

(Xinhua News Agency June 16, 2005)