China approves three private banks

China has approved the setting up of three private banks, including one by Internet giant Tencent, the industry regulator said Friday, in a long-awaited economic reform aimed at bringing competition to state banking giants. Previously, China had just two privately-owned banks, Minsheng Bank and Ping An Bank. The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) said it had approved private banks in the southern boomtown of Shenzhen, the northern port city of Tianjin and the eastern city of Wenzhou, which is known as the cradle of private enterprise in China. ‘The target is to provide efficient and diversified financial services to support the development of the real economy,’ CBRC chairman Shang Fulin was quoted as saying in a statement, according to AFP.