The firm, a pioneer in China in the field, is giving local citizens their own credit information reports for a fee.

They will include when, where and how much the person was lent by the commercial banks and their payment record. About 2.4 million people of the total population of 13 million in the city can get their credit information reports.

To get one they must belong to one of three categories - those having been lent money by banks, those with credit cards and registered subscribers of Shanghai Unicom and Shanghai Mobile, according to Feng Xiao, SCIS spokesman.

Shanghai Unicom and Shanghai Mobile became SCIS's partners on May 25, making it possible for local mobile phone users' credit information to be tracked.

After news of the alliance among the three companies, articles appeared in newspapers nationwide claiming that Shanghai mobile users who used to delay paying their phone bills would not be able to get loans from commercial banks.

Therefore, an increasing number of citizens are eager to know their credit rating now.

"By June 29, dozens of people had made reservations to get their credit information reports," Feng said.

Such reports will be useful when people apply for loans, rent houses and even when they apply for jobs, he said.

This is because credit records reflect people's moral character, so companies may refer to such information and select candidates with good records.

Initiated by the Shanghai Branch of People's Bank of China (PBOC), SCIS was established in 1999 because it was recognized that commercial banks increasingly required accurate credit information from their non-corporate customers to minimize risks when giving out personal loans.

Since then, the firm has provided almost 40,000 individual credit information reports to local outlets of 15 commercial banks.

(Xinhua News Agency 07/03/2001)