China tightens supervision over govt financing guarantee institutions

BEIJING -- China has unveiled measures to strengthen supervision over government-controlled financing guarantee institutions in the latest move to provide better financial services for small firms and the agricultural sector.

Financial departments and regulatory authorities at the provincial level should coordinate to introduce lists of government-controlled financing guarantee institutions, according to a circular jointly released by seven central government departments, including the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.

Such institutions are asked to expand the proportion of financing guarantee funds for small and micro-businesses as well as agricultural and rural entities, said the circular.

The circular also called for better monitoring of government-controlled financing guarantee institutions to guide them to further enlarge the scale of services and lower the costs in support of small businesses and the agricultural sector.