A woman walks past billboards of foreign banks in Shanghai in this September 24, 2006 file photo. [newsphoto]

Foreign banks operating in China will have to incorporate within the country to offer bank cards and mass-market banking services in yuan, less than a month before the industry fully opens, according to rules issued by Chinese regulators last week. The rules will take effect on December 11.

Overseas banks that do not incorporate locally must set aside two times as much capital, or 200 million yuan (US$25.4 million), as those that do, according to the rules.

They cannot issue bank cards and can take only large deposits, limiting their ability to amass funds and grow through lending.

Administrative restructuring

The government will deepen the restructuring of the administrative system to improve macro regulation, public services and fight corruption, according to a release from a State Council executive meeting held last week in Beijing.

The reform of the administrative system is a major task of the country's political restructuring, said the release from the meeting chaired by Premier Wen Jiabao.

Since 2002 the government has markedly enhanced its administrative capability and it is now necessary to further improve its governance, the release said.

Luxury tax

China is likely to raise the consumption tax on luxury items to boost its role in fighting poverty.

"We are considering further increasing our tax rate on some high-end luxury goods," Wang Li, deputy head of State Administration of Taxation, told a fiscal and tax policy forum last week.

"China will continue to improve its consumption tax system to let it play a bigger role in poverty alleviation," the tax official told the forum.

"In that process, we are striving to improve our personal income, property tax and consumption tax regime," Wang said.

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