FINANCIAL institutions in Shanghai may face a slower growth in loans this year as they would find it hard to expand via individual credit business. A lower rise in loans in the city's financial institutions this year is expected at 170 billion yuan (US$20.48 billion). Loans hit 178.59 billion yuan in 2005, 26.09 billion yuan less than 2004. Infrastructure loans will still be a main driver in Shanghai's loan business as the city continues with its preparation for the World Expo to be held here in 2010 and on a growing fixed assets investment. Outstanding loans among the city's financial institutions topped 1.68 trillion yuan by the end of 2005, a year-on-year growth of 12.3 percent. The growth is 1.3 percentage points lower than a year ago. Meanwhile, overseas lenders are likely to gain a bigger share in Shanghai's banking sector as they can tap the yuan business when the market is fully opened in December under China's World Trade Organization commitments. Overseas lenders are now banned from tapping the retail yuan market. Renminbi savings in overseas banks rose 44.4 percent at the end of last year while loans hit 42.9 percent in the same period. The foreign currency savings of overseas lenders last year accounted for 97 percent of the city's total savings, while the loan figure topped 91 percent. Overseas banks in Shanghai had total assets of US$48.43 billion last year, a year-on-year growth of 25.87 percent. The growth was 10.65 percentage points higher than the level in 2004.
(Source: Shanghai Daily net, 2006-2-14) |
