su ning : china ’ s inter - bank payment and clearing service address by mr su ning, deputy governor of the people ’ s bank of china, at the press conference on the launch of the electronic commercial draft system, beijing, 28 october 2009. * * * dear guests, friends from the media, ladies and gentlemen, good morning. on october 28, 2009, the people ’ s bank of china ( pbc ) launched the electronic commercial draft system ( ecds ). the ecds is an important system built by the pbc to provide inter - bank payment and clearing service. the operation of this system marks a significant milestone in the application of information technology in china ’ s financial sector. it will have a long - term impact on the future development of the draft business in china. the pbc is committed to improving the financial infrastructure, and has made much progress in recent years. with our efforts, a modern fund transfer network is taking shape. we initiated the large value payment system ( lvps ) in 2005, and introduced the bulk electronic payment system ( beps ) in 2006. in the following two years, we built the check imaging system, which makes nationwide use of checks possible, and the foreign currency payment system, which allows real - time transfer of foreign currency denominated funds across banks. together with the recently completed intra - bank fund transfer system and the inter - bank bankcard payment system, these important networks greatly facilitate the activities of enterprises and households, and help to enhance the security and efficiency of the financial system. these systems also lead to a surge in non - cash payments. in 2008, cash payments dropped below 1 percent of the total payment. building the ecds and promoting the use of commercial drafts also pose challenges to enterprises, financial institutions, and to the central bank itself. to ensure smooth operation of the system and to prevent risks, the pbc decided to launch the system step by step. on october 28, a first group of 20 financial institutions were covered as the system began to operate, including 11 national banks, 2 local banks, 3 rural financial operations and 4 finance companies. commercial draft is an important non - cash payment instrument. it is also one of the most frequently used short - term financing tools for banks and enterprises, and a major form of credit. from 2001 to 2008, total commercial draft acceptance expanded from 1. 2 trillion yuan to 7. 1 trillion yuan, and commercial draft discount jumped from 1. 4 trillion yuan

wu xiaoling : expanding financing channels of the real estate industry and developing a win - win situation for the real estate and financial industries in china speech by ms wu xiaoling, deputy governor of the people ’ s bank of china, delivered at the annual conference of real estate finance in china, beijing, 5 november 2005. * * * ladies and gentlemen : good morning. it is my great pleasure to attend the “ annual conference of real estate finance in china, 2005 ”. i would like to take this platform to make a few comments on real estate finance. all industries and enterprises are in need of financing, with the real estate industry being only one of them. however, the financing issue of other industries is rarely talked about while financing for the real estate industry has become a hot topic for wide discussions. why is that? i think basically there are three reasons behind it. first, the real estate industry concerns people ’ s living conditions. to live and work in peace and contentment are the two important preconditions for a harmonious society. the possession of a house ensures the basic life of the people ; whether living in a good and comfortable environment concerns the living quality of people. therefore, the housing policy and the development policy of the real estate industry concerns the achievement of the social development objective, which shall be one of the critical connotations for a well - off society. second, the real estate industry enjoys a relatively long industrial chain and promotes the economic development greatly. the economy in china is in a phase of transformation and transition. the commercialization of housing and the urbanization of rural areas are exactly the processes in which the development of the real estate industry and that of other industries are mutually re - enforced. consequently, the real estate industry shall be one of the pillar industries in national economic development for quite a long period in the future. third, the development of the real estate industry concerns national interest and people ’ s livelihood. however, the productive cycle of real estate is so long that there is a process from the emergence of intensive demand for funds until the final payments made by the consumers. such a mismatch can also be regarded as the timing difference between the demand for and supply of funds, which is a financial issue for sure. it is the special social and economic role played by the real estate industry and the urgency regarding the financing of the real estate industry that have aroused people ’ s particular interest in the real estate finance. real estate finance definitely does not refer