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Politics : Ask Michael Burke -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (55010)	4/7/1999 4:16:00 PM
From: Michael Bakunin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 132070

The latter; as with Intel, I wanted to get some more puts on it, but I thought the bulls could run it over 55 again. Weaklings. <g> -mb

To: Knighty Tin who wrote (55010)	4/7/1999 4:20:00 PM
From: RealMuLan	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 132070

Here is some comparison to how reluctant of Chinese to borrow the money. chinadaily.com.cn <<On March 3, the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, issued a circular urging all banks to loosen their restrictions on loans to private individuals and speed up their preparation for extending small loans for consumer items. In the middle of March, commercial banks in Shanghai and Tianjin responded by providing loans under 100,000 yuan(US$12,000) to those in need of electronic appliances but short of money. This move is generally seen as intending to prize open the tight wallet of Chinese consumers to expand slow domestic demand. "This could be seen as a new financial product needed by the government to give the sagging domestic market a shot in the arm," said Wang Songqi, deputy director of the Institute of Financial Research under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (Cass). Wang said the move should be taken as a signal of governmental policy rather than as a magical panacea. So far, reaction from both consumers and other banks has been cautious. The first group of such consumers in Beijing has finished all necessary procedures and picked up the goods last weekend, according to Parkson's Zhou. But he said he was not sure how many of the more than 20 initial applicants would be able and willing to follow through. In Tianjin, reaction from consumers has been anything but encouraging. According to the Tianjin Branch of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), only three deals were sealed in the first week the credit programme was offered in March. People's response was a bit better in Shanghai, where eight deals with the Shanghai Branch of ICBC were made during the first three days of the programme. Apart from the fact that many people are still unfamiliar with the concept of buying on credit, the rooted psychological refusal of debt spending among Chinese also make them think twice before looking for a loan officer. "Chinese are used to saving rather than spending," said Cass' Wang. "Spending by borrowing is still something unthinkable for them." A survey conducted by the Road to the Future Market Research Corp found that more than half of the 354 people surveyed, aged between 20 and 65, said they would not turn to a bank if they were in desperate need of money. Meanwhile, 75.7 per cent of those surveyed said that it is unnecessary to borrow money from banks to buy cars and houses. Wang admitted that the increase in layoffs has also led people to tighten their purse strings. In technical terms, the current procedures for applying for individual loans, though simplified, are still complicated enough to scare off many potential borrowers, Wang said. The standard application process for housing loans, for example, includes 10 stages _ at least in theory _ and takes over a month. The real process could be even more complicated and time-consuming. Statistics of the Beijing Branch of the China Construction Bank (CCB) show that only 0.06 per cent of its housing loans last year went to individuals. As for car loans, the CCB took the plunge in October last year in four major cities but the results are not encouraging. At a CCB Beijing office in Qianmen, for example, only two such applications have been received so far this year and the total applications since the plan's initiation last year are fewer than 20. The banks, however, point to the lack of a comprehensive individual credit system, which could otherwise minimize their risks in granting loans to individuals. "Their caution is understandable given the current consumption style in China," said Wang from Cass. "Cash transactions are still the major means, not credit cards. The banks usually have no idea about the credit record of the applicants, so they have to apply more restrictions to be safe." "There is still a long way to go." he said. >>