Search

The article discusses growing interest in China in the bitcoin virtual currency. The largest bitcoin exchange in China, BTC China, accounted for close to 33% of global trading volume in bitcoins during a 30-day period in late 2013. Media attention given to bitcoins in China has attracted amateur investors including beauty-salon owner Xiong Bin.

The article reports that the U.S. Federal Reserve Board approved proposals by three government-owned Chinese banking industry firms to expand their operations into the U.S., including allowing one firm to acquire a U.S. banking company. The Federal Reserve's decision is discussed as an indication of its acceptance of China's banking regulatory agencies as comparable to U.S. agencies.

The article reports that the value of the bitcoin alternative currency fell by 38 percent against the U.S. dollar after the Chinese exchange BTC China said it would not accept the yuan, China's national currency as a means of buying bitcoins.

Discusses the efforts of Discover Financial Services Inc. to enable its Discover credit cards to be usable in China as of May 2005.

The article considers the initial public offerings (IPO) of the Chinese banks Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. in relationship to the hiring by investment banks who participated in the IPOs of the children of prominent Communist Party officials.

The article discloses the plan of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. (BofA) to seek permission from China to expand its operations in the country, where it lags behind several of its rivals.

Looks at the role of the bidding for Guangdong Development Bank in the possibility of permitting foreign investors to assume larger stakes in Chinese financial institutions.