Liberalization lifts rates

Small and medium-sized banks in Shanghai and Beijing have raised their time-deposit rates amid the ongoing liberalization of interest rates in the mainland.迷你倉新蒲崗 However, the nation's five major state- owned banks have not followed suit. Bank of Beijing, China Everbright Bank, China Guangfa Bank and Ping An Bank have raised their two-year, three-year and five-year fixed-deposit rates by 10 percent, said Xinhua, quoting China National Radio. People's Bank of China allowed banks to offer deposit rates of up to 10 above the benchmark level in June last year but not many lenders did so until recently. After the recent move, interest on five迷你倉出租year fixed deposits has risen from 4.75 percent to 5.23 percent, giving citizens 2,375 yuan (HK$3,008.44) more for every 100,000 yuan. Depositors at Beijing-based China Guangfa Bank can enjoy the higher rates with no conditions attached. Others banks require a minimum deposit. For a three-year deposit, China Everbright requires clients to put in a minimum 30,000 yuan and Ping An Bank requires at least 500,000 yuan. Guo Tianyong, a professor at the Central University of Finance and Economics, said interest rate liberalization will be realized gradually from smaller city commercial banks to large state-owned lenders. KATHELEEN WONG 儲存倉