China sees fewer micro credit firms in 2017
China continued to see fewer micro-credit firms last year amid tightening regulations on malpractice in the sector, official data showed Thursday. The country had 8,551 micro-credit firms as of the end of last year, compared with 8,673 in 2016, according to the central bank.
The number of micro-credit firms dropped by 237 in 2016 compared with 2015.
However, outstanding loans grew by 50.4 billion yuan ($7.88 billion) to reach 979.9 billion yuan last year.
Southwest China's Chongqing municipality boasted the largest share of outstanding micro-loans, followed by Jiangsu and Guangdong provinces. Regulations on micro-credit service, especially online micro-credit platforms targeting ordinary consumers, tightened in 2017 after fraudulent cases and cases involving violence emerged.
Chinese regulators suspended approval of new online micro-credit firms last November and banned them from conducting cross-regional business. Chinese banks are encouraged to establish maritime economy financial service department in order to optimize credit investment orientations, Shanghai Securities News reported Friday.
Maritime enterprises of different development stages should be guided to get financial support from multi-level capital markets, according to the Financial Service Guidance to Improve and Strengthen Maritime Economy Development. To promote maritime economy's high-quality development, orientations and directions for support in banking, securities, insurance and diversified financing have been clarified in the guidance, released by eight ministries and commissions, such as the People's Bank of China and State Oceanic Administration.
Maritime-related mortgage loan business innovation will be promoted to provide individualized support to different entities such as key projects on maritime infrastructure building, enterprises on industry chain and fishermen.
Financial institutions in bank industry are encouraged to optimize credit investment direction and structure to support fast development of key area in maritime economy's first, second and tertiary industries. Environmental and social risk censorship will be strengthened and a "one-veto" system for issues concerning environmental protection will be insisted on, according to the guidance.
The guidance also emphasized to regulate various types of mutual insurance, explore catastrophe insurance and reinsurance mechanisms and accelerate the development of shipping insurance, coastal tourism insurance, and environmental liability insurance to expand export credit insurance coverage. Financial institutions and enterprises, which meet certain requirements, are supported to establish financial leasing company, and financial service modes, such as publicprivate partnership (PPP) and investment and loan linkage, will also be promoted, the guidance said.
In the past five years, the gross production value of China's maritime industry grew by 7.5 percent annually on average, accounting for nearly 10 percent of the country's GDP, according to the State Oceanic Administration (SOA).