Beijing (AsiaNews) The Chinese government has invited Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank and 2006 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, to apply for a license to open a micro-credit institution in the country. Yunus is in Beijing to participate in a conference on micro-finance, where he has voiced concerns because China so far only allows micro-credit groups in its territory to lend money, not to take deposits. Grameen Bank however insists it is impossible to press ahead with development through micro-credit without the option of taking deposits from farmers.
It is in Beijing's interest to develop rural areas as their underdevelopment is a source of social unrest. At the same time, it fears the competition of foreign banks, more secure than national institutions that are riddled with enormous debts.
Du Xiaoshan, deputy director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Rural Development Institute, said the Chinese government was interested in the experiments of the Grameen Bank, but time was needed to reach agreement. Yunus also expressed interest in projects in Chinese rural areas but said China needed to implement legislation pertaining to micro-credit institutions.
If this takes place, China would become the world's largest arena for the implementation of micro-credit ventures. According to the World Bank, there are more than 350 million people in China, mostly peasants, living below the poverty line.
