Freeloaders could be exposed on Shanghai database

A credit-rating database holding the records of enterprises and individuals is expected to be launched in Shanghai in the summer with the aim of clamping down on dishonest practices across the city.

Zhou Guoxiong, a deputy to Shanghai People's Congress and the Party chief of the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Information, said the database has been in the making for three years, and will provide "an accurate and reliable system to regulate dishonest behavior more efficiently".

It will be open to the public by the end of this year.