The highly publicized launch of the Liu Xiang Visa Credit Card by Bank of Communications this week marked a high point in domestic banks rush to tap the lucrative credit business, at a time when mortgage lending is being constrained by the government.

 

Bank of Communications (BoCom) was fortunate to have recruited Liu before the hurdler broke the world record with 12.88 seconds.

 

To contract him now for product endorsement is estimated to cost at least 12 million yuan (US$1.5 million), said industry sources.

 

BoCom and its 19.9 percent shareholder, Europe's biggest bank HSBC, launched the credit card on Tuesday, only about a year after they issued a co-branded Pacific Credit Card.

 

It's expected to lead a new round of credit card competition in China as the retail service attracts increasing attention from lenders.

 

Other commercial lenders such as the Bank of China and Huaxia Bank have new cards in the pipeline, while other credit card issuers are spending vast amounts of money marketing their cards.

 

With the image of a hurdling Liu printed on its card, BoCom has ambitious plans for circulation.

 

"We have no limit on the number of the Liu Xiang card we want to issue," said Ron Logan, chief executive of HSBC and BoCom's joint card centre.

 

"Liu Xiang is so popular and we think we will produce as many as hundreds of thousands of the cards because people will want to be related to this new hero."

 

Although circulation of the dual currency-denominated Pacific Credit Card the bank launched last July has surpassed 1 million, Logan said, a stable customer base and the brand is more important.

 

Also, even though the bank has yet to reach profitability in the card business, Logan is confident profits would come in about three years.

 

"We are well on the road to becoming profitable after our first three years. It is hard work but it's about building a customer base, promoting the brand and providing the right service," he added.

 

According to consultancy McKinsey & Co, credit card profits in China could hit US$1.6 billion by 2013, becoming the second largest retail banking service behind mortgages.

 

By 2005 the number of credit cards in China had risen to 12 million, up from 3 million at the end of 2003.

 

In anticipation of the opening of China's banking industry to full foreign competition, much of the mounting excitement from international analysts and institutions has centered on the potential of retail banking, especially of the credit card market.

 

For instance, the Bank of China (BOC) and Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC are moving ahead with a joint credit card venture.

 

The joint venture is part of a strategic co-operation agreement between the two banks. Under the partnership they will release credit cards which include BOC's existing credit card business.

 

The Huaxia Bank, a Chinese lender with a 9.9 percent stake owned by Deutsche Bank, has the launch of a co-branded credit card in the pipeline, an official with the lender's Shanghai branch told China Daily.

 

Although the Huaxia Bank already has several debit cards, it has not yet ventured into credit cards. But the bank began preparation for a credit card launch as early as last May.

 

Existing card issuers have already begun bombarding the Chinese market with cash bonuses and other gifts in a battle to win over consumers.

 

(China Daily July 21, 2006)