Savings deposits and loans of financial institutions increased by a large margin. The savings deposits in RMB and foreign exchange in all financial institutions at the end of 2002 totaled 18.34 trillion yuan, up 18.1 percent. The loans in RMB and foreign exchange in various forms in all financial institutions reached 13.98 trillion yuan, up 15.4 percent on a comparable basis. The structure of loans continued to improve. The loans in rural credit cooperatives stood at 1.39 trillion yuan, an increase of 195.3 billion yuan. The consumption loans totaled 1.07 trillion yuan, an increase of 369.4 billion yuan, of which, the loans for individual housing were 825.8 billion yuan, an increase of 267.1 billion yuan.

In 2002, funds raised through stock issuance and placement at Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges totaled 96.2 billion yuan, a decrease of 29 billion yuan from the previous year. Of this total, 102 companies issued A-shares (including additional issues and convertible bonds) and another 22 companies offered rights issue at Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, with capital paid-in topping 78 billion yuan, a decline of 40.2 billion from 2001. The issue of 16 B-shares and H-shares helped to draw 18.2 billion yuan worth of foreign capital, an increase of 11.2 billion yuan. The number of listed companies (with A- and B-shares) in China's stock markets rose from 1,160 at the end of 2001 to 1,224 at the end of 2002, with a total capitalization of 3.83 trillion yuan, down by 11.9 percent.

More mainland enterprises were listed on the Hong Kong stock market in 2002. After years of efforts, various mainland enterprises, mainly state-owned enterprises (H-shares) and red-chips, are now playing a vital role in Hong Kong's stock market. The number of mainland enterprises listed in the special administrative region increased from 94 prior to 1997 to 185 at the end of 2002. The share of mainland enterprises in Hong Kong's stock market in terms of capitalization rose from 16 percent in 1997 to 26 percent in 2002. The share of mainland enterprises in Hong Kong's stock market in terms of trading volume soared from 18 percent in 1997 to 31 percent during 1998-2002. From 1998 to the end of 2002, funds raised by mainland enterprises in Hong Kong reached HK$526 billion, accounting for 64 percent of the total funds raised on Hong Kong's stock market during the same period.

In 2002, the insurance premium of domestic and foreign insurance companies totaled 305.3 billion yuan, up 44.3 percent over the previous year. Of this total, the premium of life insurance was 195.7 billion yuan; health and unforeseen accident insurance, 31.8 billion yuan; and property insurance, 77.8 billion yuan. The insurance companies paid an indemnity of 70.7 billion yuan as reparations in insurance programs, of which the indemnity of life insurance was 22.5 billion yuan, and that of health insurance was 5 billion yuan. Another 43.2 billion yuan was paid as reparations in property and unforeseen accident insurance programs.

Foreign banks have become an important force in China's financial system. The assets of foreign banks in China have reached $37.97 billion, including RMB assets totaling 49.6 billion yuan. By the end of October 2002, foreign banks had 181 business offices in China. Of those, there were 147 branches of foreign banks with eight sub-branches, and 19 legal entities registered in China with seven branches. Beginning from February 1, 2002, the People's Bank of China successively approved 23 foreign banks in China to conduct RMB business. China allowed foreign banks in Shanghai and Shenzhen to provide RMB services on a trial basis in 1996. In 2002, the number of foreign banks approved to provide RMB services reached 53, of which 30 were in Shanghai, 14 in Shenzhen, five in Tianjin and four in Dalian. Gradually opening the RMB business to foreign banks is a major commitment China had made for its WTO accession. When China joined the WTO on December 11, 2001, it officially opened the RMB business to foreign banks in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Dalian. By December 1, 2002, China further opened its RMB business in Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Qingdao, Nanjing and Wuhan.