Su Ning, deputy governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said that a nationwide network linking enterprises credit information databases in all commercial banks and qualified rural credit unions will commence operation on 30 June. A one month transition period will be given for the migration of information in the existing credit enquiry systems in the banks to the new database.

In the recent 2006 PBOC's credit management working meeting held in Guilin, Guangxi, Su said that major progress has been made in the establishment of a centralised credit information database on corporations and individuals developed by commercial banks under the auspices of PBOC. The individual credit information database went into operation last year and became the world's largest database of its kind. Up to the end of January this year, the database holds records on some 486 million individuals, containing information on their personal particulars, bank accounts and transactions, bank loans as well as information from outside the banking system such as housing provident fund. The goal of setting up a personal credit record for virtually every individual engaged in economic activities in the city and some villages has been basically achieved.

Su said that full use will be made of the centralised database this year to drive credit work to a new level, and stressed the importance of building a social credit system and a good financing environment. Action will be taken to raise the awareness of enterprises and individuals on the importance of credit, encourage good credit behaviour, boost the creditworthiness of enterprises of all sizes and strive for the inclusion of small loans into the credit systems for individuals and enterprises.

Major efforts will also be devoted to the following: enhancing the usage of the credit information database for enterprises and individuals, making full use of the database's monitoring function for the purposes of supervising and stabilising the finance system, keeping a close eye on changes in information pertaining to finance institutions and their customers, and monitoring any potential structural risks.

The government will also step up its work on building the legal framework for credit and managing and monitoring the credit market. It will also speed up drafting the Regulations on the Administration of Credit and the Provisional Measures for the Administration of Enterprises' Credit Information Database, with the aim of promulgating the latter in the first half of 2006.