Wenzhou-based private commercial bank could launch soon – state backed paper
If approved next month, it would be the first private bank to open on the mainland since China Minsheng Bank started operating in 1996
A Wenzhou-based private commercial bank could launch before the end of the year, according to a financial newspaper that quoted anonymous sources.
Preparations were moving quicker than expected at Wenzhou Minshang Bank and the lender could open for business by the end of next month, the Shanghai Securities News said.
Tencent Holdings' Shenzhen Qianhai Weizhong Bank (WeBank) was in the process of applying to launch, it said, but quoted a company insider as saying the bank, based in a special economic zone in Shenzhen, was unlikely to open soon.
The two banks, along with Tianjin Jincheng Bank, received approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission in July. At the time, they were given a six-month window to apply for the formal launch of operations.
Since then, the CBRC has also given e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding approval to open a bank in Hangzhou and cleared the way for conglomerate Juneyao and garment brand Metersbonwe Fashion & Accessories to establish a lender in Shanghai.
If approved next month, Wenzhou Minshang would be the first private bank to launch on the mainland since China Minsheng Banking Corp opened in 1996.
Chint, a manufacturer of electrical industry equipment, and polyurethane producer Huafon have backed the bank in a region known as the cradle of entrepreneurialism on the mainland.