Li Shan, Chief Executive Officer of Bank of China International (BOCI) Holdings Ltd., made the remarks at a forum on the WTO and capital market, which is held in Beijing Friday.

Li said that China is growing into the biggest market in the world for international investment banks.

Domestic enterprises' demand for financing services has dramatically increased as China's economy grows rapidly.

The high savings ratio in the country also requires an expansion of the domestic capital market, he said.

China's financial institutions should grasp the opportunities generating from China's WTO accession and work hard to build themselves into first-class investment banks in the coming three to five years, by introducing advanced experiences from their foreign counterparts and furthering reforms on themselves, Li urged.

(People’s Daily May 25, 2002)