China must expand local companies' fund-raising options by allowing commercial banks to invest in the country's private-equity funds, the deputy central bank governor said.

"Our current capital market is insufficient in meeting the funding needs of our companies," Wu Xiaoling said today at a conference in North China's Tianjin City. "Banks are institutions that manage risks anyway so they should be in the best position to judge the risks in these instruments."

Private-equity funds should be allowed to buy stakes in closely held Chinese companies before they sell stocks to investors, Wu said. These funds should then be given the room to bring in overseas management expertise to help companies enhance their strategies and performance before an initial public offering, she said.

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China needs rules for private equity funds to sell their stakes, or exit from their investments, Wu said, without elaborating. China also needs funds that specialize in investing in the country's currency, the yuan, she said today.

China Development Bank and Tianjin government plan to set up a 2 billion yuan (US$262 million) fund to invest in venture capital firms, according to the city's deputy mayor, Cui Jindu.

Tianjin's Bohai Industrial Investment Fund, one of the nation's private equity funds, has 20 billion yuan of investments. The fund was initiated by six mainland companies, including China Life Insurance Co.

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