Chinese lenders are confident of their competitiveness with foreign banks, says a signed article in People's Daily. An excerpt follows:

When China became a member of the World Trade Organization five years ago, many were worried that foreign investors may pose a threat to the underdeveloped industries, one of them being the financial sector.

Now that it's time for China to fulfil its promise and fully open the renminbi business to foreign-invested banks, domestic banks are calm and confident about facing their competitors.

The head of China Construction Bank said that it is a good opportunity for Chinese and foreign banks to learn from each other and jointly offer better financial services to local residents.

Domestic banks gain their confidence from their specific advantages over their foreign counterparts.

They are in possession of an extensive network of retail branches, a large consumer group, huge capital and long-time co-operation with their clients.

Domestic banks carried out financial restructures and several of the State-owned commercial banks went public on the Shanghai stock exchange as well as on the securities market in Hong Kong. They witnessed huge improvements in corporate governance, financial services and innovation.

All these have laid a solid base for Chinese banks to enter the field of competition with foreign banks.

There is also the opinion that the small- and medium-sized commercial banks would feel a greater impact from the opening-up of renminbi business to foreign banks because both of them focus on the markets in large cities. However, the managers of these banks think this is not the case. They have developed creative methods in management, risk control and information technology in recent years, enabling them to be well prepared for intensive competition.

Admittedly, foreign banks will have far-reaching influence on the development of the country's financial sector. They have the competitive edge in high-end intermediary services, like credit cards and asset management. Chinese banks are most likely to lose huge market share to their foreign competitors in these businesses.

(China Daily November 29, 2006)