Credit rating firms expect rosy business
(eastday.com)
Updated: 2004-03-13 11:18

The local government said yesterday it will spearhead the usage of credit this year by asking for credit reports from companies or individuals involved in government procurement, land bidding, property right transactions and staff recruitment this year.

"We encourage the usage of credit in local residents' daily lives and companies' operations as an effort to cultivate a credit environment in Shanghai," said Fan Xiping, director of the Shanghai Information and Technology Development Commission.

The local government is exploring a local credit network with neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces, which would help local banks assure the creditworthiness of loan applicants.

Currently, Shanghai hosts 20 credit rating agencies with combined revenues expected to rise nearly 50 million yuan (US$6.04 million) this year, compared with 100 million yuan total last year.

"The 150-million-yuan earnings are still far less than developed overseas markets whose annual income in the sector could reach as high as billions of US dollars," said Fan.

The concept of credit rating is still not marketed well in the country as the Chinese have long viewed credit on a moral basis, preferring verbal trust among people.

Only commercial lenders are now required to request credit reports on loan applicants from credit bureaus.

Banks and individuals can purchase credit reports from the 20 local credit rating agencies.

"Given the support from the government, together with the increasing awareness of credit reports among local residents, the outlook for the fledgling industry is bright," said Wang Ying, an analyst of Centrus Business Credit Consulting Corp, one of the 20 credit agencies in Shanghai.

Shanghai Credit Information Services Co, the only credit agency approved to rate individuals in China's mainland, has stored credit records of 3.7 million local residents, compared with a population of 16 million in the city.

According to Fan, the credit histories of more than 4 million local residents will be recorded by Shanghai Credit Information Services Co by the end of this year.

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