ABC, once the only rural banking institution in China, suffered 10 billion yuan in losses in property and capital in 1996, shut down or merged more than 3,000 offices in the countryside and opened more than 1,800 urban branches, according to China Daily. The existing poor rating system had resulted in numerous bad loans and many cases of bad credit, the agency quoted the bankers as saying at a national financial meeting held last week. Credit ratings for Chinese firms and banks now rely on international organizations that evaluate enterprises based on their relationship with the central government, it said. According to Bloomberg, China produced more crude steel in 1996 than any other nation, including former leader Japan. The Japan Iron and Steel Federation said China produced 110.4 million tons of crude steel last year, while Japan made 98.8 million tons.
Steel is an important indicator of industrial production because most manufacturers use steel.
Yuan loans rose 13.7 percent to 475 billion yuan. Pre-tax profits at the bank totaled 8.2 billion yuan as revenues rose 10.1 percent to 206.7 billion yuan. The Bank of China is setting up an investment banking unit in London to expand its overseas business. The biggest single source of individual income tax revenue was Beijing, which accounted for about 2.27 billion yuan of the total, it said quoting statistics from the State Administration of Taxation. Shanghai was in second place with 2.16 billion yuan, while southern Guangdong province was third with 1.91 billion yuan and the eastern provinces of Jiangsu and Fujian followed, collecting 974 million yuan and 890 million yuan respectively, it said.