World Bank arm looks at securities

The investment arm of the World Bank plans to turn its attention to Chinese securities the South China Morning Post reported. The International Finance Corporation has already poured almost US$600 million into the country's banking sector, which helped make China the IFC's fifth largest investment destination, but Beijing has not been welcoming of IFC's efforts to penetrate the securities industry. An application to buy a 5% stake in Changjiang BNP Paribas Peregrine Securities last year is still pending and in 2002 regulators rejected IFC's US$12 million offer for 16% of a joint venture between Changjiang Securities and France's BNP Paribas Group. China's securities sector has, to date, depended almost exclusively on government-held investment firms for capital.