Official says more reforms in pipeline

A year after the launch of landmark financial reforms in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, the city's top financial official said that they will start to have a deep impact in the year ahead.

"We're preparing to launch more policies to ensure more instant and effective results," Zhang Zhenyu, director of Wenzhou's financial office and the official in charge of the reform, said during an online interview.

Zhang added that it will take three to five years for the full effect of the reform package to be felt.

Establishment of a financial organization system, an innovative financial products system, a private capital market system and a financial monitoring system will be the focus of work this year.

"The reform aims to solve the problems related to private capital, private financing and private enterprises," said Zhang.

To mark the anniversary, a rural commercial bank, Wenzhou's first financing re-guarantee center for small and micro-enterprises, a SME commercial paper service company and other financial organizations were launched on Thursday.

The city's first rural commercial bank, Longwan Rural Commercial Bank, has increased its total capital stock to more than 1.7 billion yuan ($270 million) from 700 million yuan in November 2012.

Zhang added that proposals to establish Wenzhou Securities Co Ltd with an expected capital of more than 3 billion yuan, and Wenzhou Insurance Co Ltd with capital of 1 billion yuan are under negotiation, which are due to be completed by the end of the year.

In the past year, Wenzhou was also the first city in China to launch an index to establish updated interest rates for loans in the private capital market.

"The range of the Wenzhou index will be extended from the city to the country by gathering the updated interest rates in all private capital markets," said Zhang.

An online credit information system will also be launched, which will provide qualified institutions with local residents' credit history, including details of credit card purchases and loan repayment records.

Wenzhou was selected for the financial reform pilot project on March 28, 2011, to regulate the collapsing private-financing system.

yuran@chinadaily.com.cn