Underground banks – lifeblood of the private sector

• Published 15 Jul 2010

Lending from a wide array of unregulated private lenders has surged this year to meet demand from a resurgent private sector in need of credit to meet rising orders.

From Tibet to Shanghai, China's tens of millions of small businesses are struggling to secure a line of credit to meet rising orders. Instead of turning to often unresponsive state owned banks, a growing number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are relying on a wide array of unregulated private lenders, or underground banks, for finance.

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• Guest Column

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