Foreign-funded banks have become an important part of China's banking industry, Vice President of the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) Tang Shuangning said Sunday.

Tang told a Sino-Japanese Economic Forum Sunday that by the end of June, the number of outlets of foreign-funded banks totaled 225 and that of their representative offices, 240. Their assets amounted to US$79.6 billion.

Both the business volume and the market share of the foreign-funded banks keep expanding, Tang said. They offer customers over 100 kinds of products.

China's banking industry opened to foreign businesses in 1981. So far, 19 overseas financial institutions have owned stakes in 16 Chinese banks, including state-owned and joint-stock banks, as well as local commercial banks, with their total investment amounting to US$16.5 billion.

(Xinhua News Agency October 10, 2005)