Chinese banking has become something of a gold rush. But some newcomers may be too optimistic about their prospects of hitting a rich seam. Kazuhiko Shimizu investigates.
The stampede of foreign investors into China’s state-owned banking sector has all the aspects of a 21st-century gold rush: expectations of lucrative returns, competition for the best niches and plenty of risk.

After the latest investment bank beauty parade in Beijing for adviser to Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s IPO, rating agencies’ focus has fallen on the city commercial banks. The Banker’s article ‘Best banks to buy in China’ (May 2005), identified several such banks in its analysis.

One of the great debates of economics is whether China or India will be the leading emerging market powerhouse of the next decade. China has first-mover advantage but is its model running into problems?

At this time of the year, it is becoming fairly standard to forecast a US recession caused by a housing crash that slows down consumer spending and then hits corporate profits.

China Construction Bank Corporation
Guo Shuqing, Chairman

Most of China’s population live in the countryside and these are also its poorest citizens, making rural development one of the government’s top agenda items. Finance minister Jin Renqing explains.

Stephen Timewell questions Liu Mingkang, chairman of China Banking Regulatory Commission, on capitalisation, corporate governance and the role of foreign banks.

Sophie Roell in New York and Beijing explains the story of a seemingly mission impossible, the successful part-flotation of CCB, one of China’s huge state banks.

In reality, free trade agreements rarely go the whole nine yards – they are at best liberal trade agreements.

Goldman Sachs is in no doubt about one of the reasons to buy Bank of East Asia (BEA) shares. In a report, its analysts wrote that the largest independent local bank in Hong Kong has a number of unique revenue drivers that many other Hong Kong banks would “kill” to have, including a leading position among foreign banks in China –18.3% of its loans are on the mainland.