More join in rural banking

Big banks and agricultural companies will expand their business in China's less competitive yet much-needed rural banking sector, said entrepreneurs on the sidelines of CPPCC meetings.

HSBC has quadrupled the capital of its first rural bank in the country and plans to open more such banks, said Vincent Cheng Hoi-chuen, executive director of HSBC.

"We are deeply concerned about rural finance in China and are confident of developing our business in this sector," said Cheng. HSBC last year opened the first foreign-invested rural bank in Suizhou, Hubei province, with capital of 10 million yuan.