PBOC governor visits pilot financial reform zone

BEIJING - Zhou Xiaochuan, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said Tuesday during his tour of Wenzhou that the city being a pilot zone for financial reform should encourage private capital to flow into its financial sector.

"Wenzhou should actively integrate local financial resources and strive to resolve prominent problems in its economic development," Zhou said.

The pilot zone should encourage and guide private capital to enter the field of financial services, ensure smooth access to investment channels for private capital and improve the financial services to small and micro-sized enterprises and the rural areas, according to the governor.

By carrying out the financial reforms, Wenzhou should effectively improve the capability of turning private capital into industrial capital, Zhou said.

In late March, China approved a plan to set up a pilot zone in the eastern city to regulate private financing activities, after the city's private business owners turned to underground lenders last year.