CHINA’S central bank had set limits on the stakes investors could take in city commercial banks, the Economic Daily reported yesterday, citing an unnamed spokesperson.

　　The spokesperson said an individual investor could hold no more than 5 percent of a bank, while each institutional investor could have a stake of no more than 15 percent.

　　The total amount of foreign investment in a city commercial bank shouldn’t exceed 15 percent, the spokesperson said.

　　The People’s Bank of China encourages foreign and private companies to invest in city commercial banks as China moves to open its sheltered financial services industry to foreign competition under commitments made when it joined the World Trade Organization last year.

　　China’s more than 100 city commercial banks hold only about 5 percent of the financial system’s total assets, but they play an important role in funding small and private companies in urban areas.

　　Like most of China’s banks, city commercial banks are primarily State-owned, in their case by local governments.

　　But the government often shares ownership of city commercial banks with several other investors, including private companies.

　　(SD-Agencies)