Guizhou to transform rural credit cooperatives into banks

Guizhou province is gearing up to transform 25 rural credit cooperatives into commercial banks by the end of the year by attracting external funds, the Shanghai Securities News reported on Monday.

The newspaper said the province in Southwest China will accelerate the restructuring process of local rural credit cooperatives, citing rural financial reform guidelines drafted out by the local government.

The guidelines encourage local and outside financial institutions, large and medium-sized companies and private capital to initiate or participate in the establishment of rural banks.

By 2015, all counties are expected to have at least a rural bank, it said.

The province is expected to complete the equity reform of rural credit cooperatives before the end of 2015, with the proportion of corporate shares in a town-level cooperative increased to 36 percent, and those at a county-level cooperative increased to 20 percent.

As China continues the reform of rural credit cooperatives, investment opportunities for domestic and foreign capital will increase, officials and analysts said.

"We expect more cooperatives to be transformed into rural commercial banks after the equity reform, and foreign investors are welcome to become strategic partners and make long-term investments," said Yin Youxiang, head of the rural financial service regulatory division at the China Banking Regulatory Commission.