CHINA

Foreign Banks to Be Allowed to Open Beijing Branches: “I can’t give you the month or the day, but it will happen this year,” said Di Weiping, deputy director of the foreign affairs department at the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank. Foreign banks can already operate branches in 13 coastal cities, including Shanghai and Shenzhen. Foreign bank branches in China can conduct all kinds of commercial business, including lending and deposits, but only in foreign currencies. In Beijing, China’s political center, they can operate only representative offices. Many of the world’s major banks are eager to open commercial branches in the Chinese capital, which has a population of about 10 million.