Lending a Helping Hand to SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play an integral role in China’s economy.About 99 percent of Chinese enterprises are SMEs which provide nearly 80 percent of job opportunities in urban areas and contribute 60 percent of the country’s GDP.Access of funds has long been a problem for Chinese SMEs as they are often considered too risky and banks prefer to lend to big companies,particularly reputable stateowned enterprises.But banks can do more to support SMEs,said Som Subroto,global head of SME Banking at Standard Chartered Bank in an article for Beijing Review.Edited excerpts follow.     

MARKET WATCH

TO THE POINT:The release of economic figures for April stoked inflation fears again.The CPI rose 2.8 percent in April,challenging the government's goal of keeping inflation below 3 percent.Bank lending in April brought new loans in the first four months to half of the designated loan target cap for the whole year.     

金融危机下中国银行业流动性风险的防范——以资产市场价格波动为视角

2007年以来,源于美国次贷市场的金融危机迅速深化和蔓延,造成欧美大批金融机构严重亏损,一些欧美的商业银行和国际投资银行因流动性问题已经或即将面临倒闭风险,而资产价格泡沫破灭是导致这场银行业流动性危机的根源。由次贷危机引起的金融危机对银行业流动性风险管理提出了新的挑战,该文从资产市场价格波动的角度来进行探讨,加强对中国银行业流动性风险的防范。     

MARKET WATCH

The central bank on November 19 ordered commercial banks to set aside an additional 0.5 percent of their reserves amid looming inflationary risks.Investors are on the defense and preparing for the worst by buying up gold as a safe haven against inflation and market uncertainties.China’s stateowned enterprises earned a combined profit of 1.626 trillion yuan($245 billion) from January to October this year,soaring 44.8 percent year on year.In a push into renewable energies,China should enhance efforts in hydropower,wind power and inter-provincial trade,as well as green electricity schemes,said the World Bank.The aviation industry booms as air traffic increases.     

MARKET WATCH

Chinese banks reap juicy returns as interest income widens.The manufacturing sector warms up,as evidenced by the PMI's continued growth.Foreign trade regains its lost ground and is estimated to grow 25 percent this year,but the road ahead is filled with challenges. Consumers click away as China's e-commerce sector booms with a transaction volume totaling $180 billion in the third quarter this year. International hot money remains a concern since an increased amount may be pouring into China.     

MARKET WATCH

No Double Downturn A"double dip"is unlikely for the Chinese economy in the second half of 2010，although the country's industrial value-added output and trade growth is expected to slow，said China's top industrial and commercial regulators.     

MARKET WATCH

Stock Market Nightmare A bearish mood dominated the Chinese stock markets in the first half of this year with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index dropping 26.82 percent by June 30.     

The Era of Minimum Tax Rates Is Coming

At a meeting in London on June 5, finance ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) nations agreed to establish a global minimum tax rate of 15 percent for large multinational companies. The historic agreement demonstrates the growing willingness of the United States and European countries to cooperate in the context of rising populism, protectionism and deglobalization in the Western world. It is expected to bring profound changes to global tax governance, as well as to the global trade and economic landscape.     

中国商业银行碳金融业务发展战略研究

当前碳金融已经成为全球商业银行竞争的新领域,中国商业银行拓展碳金融业务已是大势所趋。该文对中国发展碳金融的必要性和国内外商业银行在碳金融领域的发展现状进行了分析,指出了中国商业银行发展碳金融业务存在的七个主要障碍,进而提出了促进中国商业银行碳金融业务发展的对策建议。     

Transforming China's Banks: the IFC's experience

China's progress in fixing its banking system has surprised observers. Successful experiments, some of them involving foreign investors, have emerged in China to deal with the problems of the banking system. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, has played an active role in piloting some of these approaches in close cooperation with the regulator and other strategic investors. In the period 1995–2000, IFC's strategy was to work with one or two banks to help improve their governance and skills. The idea was to create some model banks which could be emulated by others and used by the regulators to introduce modern banking practices. Once the corporate governance and business practices of these banks improved, then the IFC was able to attract foreign banks to invest in these banks. These investments encouraged other foreign banks to consider taking minority stakes in the smaller banks. The success of these experiments gave confidence to the Chinese authorities to open up the big state-owned banks for foreign investment and encouraged big international banks to invest large sums of money to take minority stakes in the big banks. While progress in reform has been remarkable, the real and sustainable transformation of the Chinese banks is far from over and will be a lengthy process. Significant challenges such as improving corporate governance and credit risk management remain. Despite the significant opening of the banking system to foreign direct investment, foreign ownership in the Chinese banking system remains low by international standards. Even with existing limitations on foreign ownership, foreign strategic investors are contributing to the transformation of Chinese banks and their role remains highly relevant for the continued reform of the Chinese banking system.     

我国商业银行利率市场化问题研究——中小商业银行“被退市”危机及应对策略

2012年我国两次不对称降息政策进一步加快了利率市场化进程,并引发了商业银行利润总额和利润结构的急剧变化。从世界金融发展历史看,存贷利差的缩小,利润水平的大幅下降可能影响商业银行财务的连续性,使其遭遇重组甚至“被退市”的危机。我国的商业银行尤其是中小商业银行如不提前防备,同样面临“被退市”风险。因此,中小商业银行必须高度重视利率因素带来的生存危机,提高应对水平,以求在利率市场化过程中得以生存与发展。     

践行多边主义,共创美好未来——在第十四届亚欧外长会议第一次全会上的引导性发言

主席先生,各位同事:很高兴出席第十四届亚欧外长会议,感谢东道主西班牙为这次亚欧外长会议所做的周到安排。当今世界正经历百年未有之大变局。单边主义愈演愈烈,冲击国际规则法治。保护主义持续蔓延,拖累世界经济增长。强权政治四处横行,威胁世界和平稳定。亚欧国家代表着近六成的世界人口和世界经济总量。     

The Benefits of Oversaving

China's high savings rate has long been considered a barrier to sustainable economic development. According to the People's Bank of China, China's savings ratio stood at 46 percent in 2009, much higher than the United States, Japan, the European Union and other major developed countries. The Chinese Government has been taking measures to stimulate consumption by lowering the savings ratio. Whether such efforts will pay off has yet to be seen. Wang Qing, Morgan Stanley's chief economist in China, offered his...     

中国商业银行国际化经营与其效率间关系研究

该文以16家商业银行2007年-2011年财务数据为样本，首先构造TNI指数测量其国际化程度，随后利用DRF—DEA法、结合聚类分析测量并解释各行效率状况。结果表明：中国商业银行效率值虽在低位运行，却呈现逐年递增趋势，且国际化程度较高的六大行效率值低于国际化程度较低的商业银行。在此基础上，运用面板数据模型，考察银行跨国经营与其效率问关系，研究结果与国际化程度“三阶段”S型曲线理论相符。最后指出中国商业银行跨国经营需突破阈值，实现效率改进。     

Foreign banks in the People's Republic of China

Many foreign banks are attracted to the PRC economy, as a result of its continuing economic growth and financial liberalisations. This paper provides an empirical analysis of the factors contributing to this development and of the features of those foreign banks choosing to enter this market. In addition, a survey questionnaire permits an assessment of the attractions and weaknesses of the PRC banking market as perceived by foreign banks. It has been shown that large, financially sound foreign banks have helped to stimulate trade and investment in the PRC. However, China's restricted movement of capital and inadequate legal framework has reinforced the need for international banking services from Hong Kong.     

国有商业银行的金融安全及机制创新

国有商业银行的金融安全是中国经济发展和改革开放中面临的重大课题之一。法人治理制度创新是国有商业银行防范金融风险和有效运作的关键。资产负债管理体制的创新是防范经营风险的重要内容。债权转让机制创新则是降低资产风险、改造银企关系的契机。     

Factors Influencing the Growth of Foreign Banks' Branches in China

Because of the excess demand for branch licences and the Chinese government's policy to effectively ration banking licences, this paper suggests explaining the allocation of branch licences by the objectives of the Chinese government rather than by the objectives of foreign banks. Consequently, it examines what factors determined the supply of branch licences to foreign banks in China at a micro level. This is in contrast with the existing literature that focuses almost exclusively on the demand for branch licences by foreign banks. To consider the supply of branch licences, we construct detailed data about each foreign bank's organisations in China.     

经济学视野下的国家助学贷款问题探析

国家助学贷款鲜明特征是，政策性较强、资助对象及目的具有特定性、风险性较高。目前高校助学贷款制度实施存在一些问题。一是银行运行成本高，贷款风险大；二是学生诚信守约意识淡薄；三是贷款发放不平衡，供求矛盾突出。为此，一要构建完善的社会信用体系，创造良好的信用环境；二要大力推行生源地助学贷款；三要不断加强大学生的诚信教育；四要进一步完善高校贫困生资助体系，缓解国家助学贷款压力；五要完善立法，降低银行的风险。     

我国商业银行破产法律制度初探

我国《企业破产法》规定包括银行在内的金融机构破产可划分为清算前和清算两个阶段。在清算前阶段,银行监管机构会通过各种救助措施,以避免尚有挽救希望的银行破产。只有当救助无望时,破产银行才会进入破产清算,但在清算程序中应尽量减少损失和避免社会震荡。因此,从银行破产界限和理念角度出发,我国商业银行破产应当从特殊保护主义过渡到以重整为核心的破产预防主义,以破产重整和存款保险为支柱,以社会福利最大化为目标,同时兼顾社会秩序。     

试论银行环境审查义务的确立

银行作为企业生产经营活动的资金提供者,在对贷款进行监管的过程中有条件获悉企业的环境状况,在这种情况下,银行是否能在向企业提供贷款的过程中承担起一定的环境审查义务,以减少甚至杜绝企业污染事故的发生呢?如果这样的环境审查义务可以确立,那么,如何适用这一义务才能既达到避免污染、保护环境的目的,又不至于给银行造成过重的负担呢?对这些问题的思考,即构成了写作本文的动因.