Banking's emergence as the country's....>

CHINA PRESS: Banking's emergence as the country's most profitable sector may not

be a good thing, The Securities Times said in a commentary Tuesday. Six banks --

Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China

Agricultural Bank, Bank of China, Bank of Communications, and China Development

Bank -- are among the top 10 most profitable companies. Their total profit

exceeded CNY1 trillion -- or 36.6% of the total profit for the top 500

companies. A total of 245 manufacturers reported a combined net profit of

CNY549.31 billion -- or 19.53% of the total profit of the top 500. This disobeys

rules of economic development and causes frustration and worries that banks are

making too much money. Bank profits are eroding profits in the real economy --

especially manufacturing. Banks increasingly allocate capital not to the real

economy but to the financial sector which can cause asset bubbles and more

financial risks. Therefore, the central government needs to impose macroeconomic

controls such as regulating interest rates for loans, service fees and

inappropriate wealth management businesses. (The Securities Times)