Lenders urged to plow new fields

Aim is to revitalize rural regions with more access to financial services

China is encouraging private enterprises to initiate setting up small and medium-sized rural financial institutions, signaling the government's determination to revitalize the countryside by further opening up the rural financial industry to private capital, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

"The China Banking Regulatory Commission is endeavoring to increase the proportion of private capital in rural financial institutions," a person who works for it told Xinhua. "The move is to be carried out on two principles: giving priority to local investors, such as leading private enterprises and major farm owners, and diversifying the stock structure."