The Beijing office of China's banking regulator on Tuesday approved the opening of Zhongguancun Bank, the capital's first private financial institution. It will be the 13th such bank granted permission to operate in the country. 

The registered capital of the bank is four billion yuan (590,000 US dollars). The bank has 11 stakeholders, the majority of them being innovative tech enterprises located in the Zhonguancun area of Haidian district, a hub known for tech start-ups. 

A night view of China's "Silicon Valley", Zhongguancun in Beijing, April, 2017 /CFP Photo

Private stakeholders

The biggest stakeholder is Yonyou Network Co., Ltd., an enterprise management software and cloud service provider with 100 offices around the world. Yonyou has been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange since 2001. The company holds a 29.8% stake in the bank.  

CGTN Photo

According to the Beijing office of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, the bank will serve the needs of SMEs in the technology sector, providing them with support in funding and other financial services, boosting the innovative development of companies in the Zhongguancun area and other Chinese SMEs using technologies such as Big Data and cloud computing.

China promotes private banks

Beijing set to open its first private bank /CFP Photo

In 2014, China approved a pilot scheme which set up five private banks to give private capital a bigger role in the country's financial system.

In June last year, the State Council released guidelines aimed at promoting the development of private banks by encouraging and guiding private capital to the banking sector. 

The government aims to provide more individualized and convenient financial services to medium-and-small sized companies, rural areas, agriculture and farmers and mass entrepreneurship and innovation.

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