International Finance Corp (IFC), the World Bank's investment arm, plans to invest in China's securities industry as aggressively as it has in the banking industry, where it has spent almost US$600 million in seven years, the South China Morning Post reported, citing an IFC official.

"We will try to help reform China's securities sector, just like we did with the banking sector," the Hong Kong newspaper cited Karin Finkelston, associate director of IFC's East Asia and Pacific department, as saying.

China is the IFC's fifth-biggest overall investment destination.

However, while Chinese authorities have been receptive to IFC's involvement in banking, the same cannot be said of its efforts to penetrate the securities industry, the newspaper said.

Its application to buy five pct of Changjiang BNP Paribas Peregrine Securities, submitted last year, is still pending with the securities regulator. In 2002, the regulator rejected IFC's offer to spend 12 mln usd to buy up to 16 pct of a joint venture between Changjiang Securities and France's BNP Paribas Group.

Finkelston said besides investing directly in securities firms, IFC might also sell more yuan-denominated bonds in the local debt market to raise funds for lending to privately owned Chinese firms. Last year, it issued a 1.13 bln yuan, 10-year panda bond.

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)