Supplement: China - A Foot In The Door - China's Membership Of The World Trade Organization Has Allowed Foreign Banks To Make Small Inroads Into The Country's Heavily Controlled Financial Sector.

Banker, The, May, 2003

Fifteen months into China's membership of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and foreign banks have taken small steps into the country's giant financial landscape.

They have bought minority stakes in six small Chinese banks, are negotiating for stakes in others and have expanded their renminbi business from four cities at the time of WTO entry in December 2001 to nine. They have also a substantial share of the country's international settlement business.

Under the WTO agreement, the foreign banks will be able to compete on an equal footing with domestic ones in 2007.

However, in the overall financial landscape, foreign banks remain small and marginal players. Their share of the total market remains negligible and they spend more in China than...

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