China May Allow Foreign Banks Access

China is considering letting foreign banks do business near Shanghai as a first step toward opening its banking market to outsiders, a senior official said Thursday.

The government hasn’t decided when that will happen, deputy governor Chen Yuan of China’s central bank said at a news conference.

Chen spoke of the experiment while announcing new rules that will let foreign companies take home their profits more easily by dropping limits on buying foreign currency.

However, he said, Chinese authorities still will decide how much money companies may keep in accounts that buy foreign currency.

Nearly every major bank in the world has offices in China, but until now they have been limited to bringing in foreign investment.