This Day, That Year

Item from Nov 13, 1984, in China Daily: Xiamen, Fujian province, takes the lead among the country’s four special economic zones by ensuring a free flow of funds in and out of the zone, and setting up the first joint venture bank, the Xiamen International Bank.

Since reform and openingup, foreign capital banks have been actively engaging in business in China.

In August 1985, Xiamen International Bank was established as the first joint venture bank in the country. Its shareholders include Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Min Xin Holdings Limited, the Asian Development Bank and Japan’s Shinsei Bank.

According to the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the total assets of foreign banks in the country grew from nearly 93 billion yuan ($14 billion) to about 3 trillion yuan in the past decade.

The central authorities have in recent years gradually opened up the financial sector by relaxing control over market access for foreign-funded banks.

Last week, China laid down a blueprint for creating a more level playing field for foreign companies in the country’s sprawling financial sector, Xinhua News Agency quoted Zhu Guangyao, viceminister of finance, as saying.

Foreign companies will be allowed to own up to 51 percent of any joint venture in the securities, funds and futures markets.

By the end of 2015, there were 40 locally incorporated foreign lenders and one joint venture — the Sino-German Bausparkasse Co — the commission’s annual report said.