China should accelerate reform to make the finance industry more market-oriented as well as continue to boost financial innovation to break the hold of the banking industry over its economy, experts said at the 11th China International Finance Forum。
Although China has fully liberalized bank lending rates it still regulates deposit rates‚ Shao Bingren, head of China Association of Private Equity, said at the forum, a two-day event which ended on Saturday in Shanghai. This has caused a widening profitability gap between the banking industry and the rest of the economy such that China’s real economic growth is lagging the financial industry’s, Shao claimed。
In 2013, the aggregated net profit of 17 Chinese banks totaled 1.23 trillion yuan (US$201 billion)， taking up 51 percent of the total profits of China’s 500 largest companies, Shao said, citing data from China Enterprise Confederation. He urged the government to quicken the pace of interest rate liberalization and financial innovation。
Ma Delun, former vice governor of the People’s Bank of China, said innovation actually has helped the rise of Internet finance, such as Alibaba’s online money market fund Yu’ebao and peer-to-peer lending platforms, by overcoming regulatory restrictions。
“The financial regulators should offer more support for such innovation and create an effective market environment for the Internet finance sector,” Ma said。
But Janos Vertes, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee, cautioned financial innovation could be a double-edged sword。
“Financial innovation can help the real economy only when related risks are well managed,” Vertes said. “A more liberalized market environment, a comprehensive regulatory mechanism and a safe banking system are vital for financial innovation。”
The annual forum brought together officials, professionals and insiders from China’s financial industry to discuss Internet finance, financial information security and global financial trend。
