What is the PSBC, and how is it related to the Chinese post office system?
The PSBC’s intention to gradually turn itself into a bank was announced late in 2005, and this was widely interpreted to be the move most likely, eventually, to bring financing to the rural areas and to serve the small company market at the same time. PlaNet Finance China strongly believes that the PSBC is the natural delivery network to fill the current gaps in micro-, small and medium enterprise financing, but the challenge ahead is to transform it into a more commercial culture that resists the temptation to try to apply a national loan format template over the whole country. The huge resources of PSBC (thanks to its mega-savings and remittances) ensure that it has the capacity to beat out most competition, especially the Rural Credit Cooperatives that would normally be its natural competitor in the rural areas.
