Credit reporting industry still without standards as firms prep for licensing

Rules and regulations for personal credit reporting remain incomplete even as selected firms begin preparing related operations as part of government plans to open the market to the private sector, South China Morning Post reported. The State Council’s introduction two years ago of legislation requiring all companies engaged in personal credit-collecting operations to be licensed created uncertainty over which kinds of companies would need the licenses in order to continue operating. As eight selected companies, including subsidiaries of Alibaba and Tencent, move closer to gaining formal approval, executive director of China Chengxin Credit Information Kong Lingqiang said industry standards were still unclear, “especially [that concerning] licensing for personal credit reporting”.