Experimental financial reforms

New measures aim to legalize private lenders, ease SMEs' funding difficulties and open up more investment channels

On the basis of the State Council's approval for comprehensive financial reforms in Wenzhou and a targeted regulation jointly issued by the People's Bank of China and another eight State departments, the Zhejiang provincial government published details of the reforms on Friday, which drew extensive attention from home and abroad.

The move came after an underground banking crisis erupted in Wenzhou in September last year. Due to concerns that the crisis might spread to the country's normal financial system and perhaps trigger broader financial risk, the central government immediately gave the green light to launch experimental financial reforms.