Young people China's main credit card users   

中國信用消費逐年升溫 年輕人成“嗜卡”主力

招商銀行行長馬蔚華7日在博鰲亞洲論壇“提振消費：任重而道遠”分論壇上表示，信用卡消費越來越成為中國消費者的一個重要習(xí)慣，尤其年輕人熱衷信用卡消費，甚至透支、貸款消費。信用卡消費將成為推動中國消費的重要力量。

Boao (CNS) - Credit card spending has increasingly become a habit among Chinese consumers, especially young people, who are keen to make purchases with credit cards even with overdrafts and consumer loans, Ma Weihua, president of China Merchants Bank, said on Sunday at the Boao Forum for Asia.

According to the 2012 Bluebook of the Credit Card Industry in China, published by the China Banking Association, 55 million new credit cards were put into circulation in 2011, bringing the total number to 285 million. As of now, 330 million credit cards have been issued in China, with a year-on-year increase of nearly 20 percent, said Ma.

Chinese consumer attitudes are changing, and the young generation's consumer culture is different from their parents, Ma added.

China Merchants Bank's credit card business was expected to make earnings in eight years, but its profitability goal was achieved in four years. Interest contributed 40 percent of the earnings, and half of that came from overdrafts by young consumers.

However, China's overall consumption accounts for less than 1/3 of GDP, which is a low level in the world, Li Jiange, chairman of the China International Capital Corporation Limited, said at the forum. One of the reasons is that under the one-child family structure, many people's investments are limited, and they prefer saving money for retirement.

Lai Xiaomin, chairman of the China Huarong Asset Management Co., Ltd. also raised suggestions to promote consumption, including a long-term government mechanism to promote consumption and expand domestic demand.