May Yan, director and head of China banks research for Barclays in Hong Kong; Mark Boleat, chairman of the policy and resources committee of the City of London; and Oliver Rui, professor of finance and accounting at CEIBS. Edmond Tang / China Daily Provided to China Daily Provided to China Daily

Bank of America has raised cash by selling parts of its stake in China Construction Bank, and ICBC recently offloaded its shares in Shanghai Pudong Development Bank.

While some of these sales were about raising cash, Junheng Li, founder of J.L. Warren Capital, the New York-based equity analyst firm and author of the forthcoming book, Tiger Woman on Wall Street - Winning Strategy from Shanghai to New York and Back, believes there are still concerns about corporate governance with Chinese banks.

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"The Americans view Chinese banks like an opaque black box, and as shareholders they don't feel that their rights are looked after. To be a leader in financial services, one has got to grow brand equity. For that, Chinese banks need to improve corporate governance and transparency," she says

Oliver M. Rui, professor of finance and accounting at CEIBS, believes the Chinese banks still have got a long way to go before they start to compete with big international banks. He insists, however, that whether China becomes well known for being an international financial services provider or not, its banks hold the key for the future success of the economy.

"Finance is the engine for the next phase of China's economic development. Without the cheap costs of capital, it is going to be difficult to sustain a high growth rate," he says.

"Banking reform is critical to that. It is not just vital for building up the financial services sector but the key to developing the economy overall."

Contact the writers at andrewmoody@chinadaily.com.cn and huhaiyan@chinadaily.com.cn.

(China Daily 04/12/2013 page1)