THE People’s Bank of China, along with other financial regulators, released the 12th five-year plan for China’s financial industry Monday.

The plan, a complement to the Central Government’s five-year plan, also runs from 2011 to 2015, and mostly reiterates existing policy initiatives.

The plan was issued on the central bank’s Web site in conjunction with the China Securities Regulatory Commission, the China Banking Regulatory Commission and others.

It calls for the eventual liberalization of interest rates, and gradual progress in opening the capital account, two longstanding reform objectives. The central bank’s announcement didn’t commit to any specific time frame.

By 2015, the target is for the financial sector to reach 5 percent of GDP, up from the average of 4.42 percent from 2000 to 2010.

Direct financing by nonfinancial firms, mainly through bond issues and stock offers, should account for more than 15 percent of all financing, up from the average of 11.08 percent in the five years to 2010, the plan said.

The plan also calls for the establishment of a deposit insurance system, and the legislation of a bankruptcy law for financial institutions “to establish a procedure for financial institutions to exit the market,” although again without a specific time frame.

(SD-Agencies)