You might not be able hire Kevin Costner as a bodyguard quite yet but foreign companies will be allowed to provide security consultation from next month, senior police officials said yesterday in Beijing.

Consultation and deployment of advanced security equipment are expected to be major operations for foreign companies in the first few years.

"It's our commitment to the World Trade Organization that foreign security companies and investors have access to the Chinese market starting from January 1, 2006," Ma Weiya, deputy director of the Public Security Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security , told a press conference.

It was not clear if foreign companies would, for example, be allowed to provide security at upmarket residential areas. Nor is it certain that foreign bodyguards could be hired since there is no specific regulation on the matter. But it was made clear that operations involving the use of weapons, such as transporting cash, would not be allowed.

Ministry officials also disclosed that private investors may run security companies in China if a draft regulation on the security industry is passed next year.

Under the current system, a police official is appointed as head of a security company, which mainly provides services to hotels, housing estates, education establishments and financial institutions.

"In the future, security bureaus will be separated from security companies and will only be responsible for supervision," Ma said.

He Jiahong, a professor with the Law School of Renmin University of China, said the policy change caters to market needs. "Government ought to play a smaller role in society, especially when their functions exceed what is actually needed," he said. "Private investments will undoubtedly accelerate the development of the security industry in China."

He added that though the use of private bodyguards is becoming increasingly popular, especially in big cities, it still remains a grey area in China.

"It's legal or illegal, as no regulation mentions it," he said. "But with a growing market, I'm sure regulations in this area will be made soon."

Ministry figures show that at the end of this September, the number of security companies under the administration of the public security bureaus reached 2,169 with 970,000 security staff.

It was also announced during the press conference that about 107,000 cases of illegal mobile-phone messages have been handled in a nationwide crackdown on this rapidly-growing phenomenon since early last month.

(China Daily 12/07/2005 page2)