Article by David Olsson, Xiuli Zhao and Tracy Chan
China's consumers will soon have access to additional
sources of consumer finance for household items and general
purposes. Following a one month public consultation process,
China's banking regulator has issued final rules allowing
domestic and foreign institutions to establish consumer finance
companies in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu and Tianjin.
The new rules are contained in the Measures on Managing
Trial Consumer Finance Companies (Law) and were recently
posted on the website of the China Banking Regulatory Commission
(CBRC). The Law was promulgated on, and has effect from, 22 July
2009.
Readers of our previous
alert on the Draft Law will recall that the pilot program was
launched in May 2009 in a move designed to encourage domestic
consumer spending to counteract falling exports following the
global financial crisis. The new rules provide more detail on how
consumer finance companies can be established and
