Foreign banks see opportunities in China's reform

Economic experts from foreign banks have high hopes for more opportunities in China, as the government vows to boost support for the real economy amid slowing growth. "Chinese enterprises will be more internationalized due to continuous reforms, which will allow us to play roles similar to local banks in an open market like China," said Clarence Tao, CEO of BNP Parisbas China, at an international financial summit that opened Thursday in the northeastern city of Shenyang, Liaoning Province. China's economic growth slowed to a six-quarter low of 7.4 percent in the first quarter of the year. The government has vowed to boost support for the real economy to lay a solid foundation for economic growth. According to a statement released after a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, the government will step up support for small and micro-firms, and sectors of agriculture, rural areas and farming, and more efforts will be made to accelerate economic restructuring. The government will continue with reforms on taxation, finance, prices and management systems in science and technology, the statement said. Zhang Zhihao, a board director with Standard Chartered Bank, said that foreign banks can make the best use of such reforms to help state-owned enterprises pursue internationalization, provide financing services to rural areas and ramp up Internet-based financing services. Zhang added that he is confident of the bright prospects of foreign banks as deposit interest rates in China become increasingly marketized. "Foreign banks will see more development amid deposit interest rate marketization because they boast more experiences and edges in terms of risk management and product innovation," he said.