The sale of personal wealth management products last year at banks may have topped one trillion yuan (US$137 billion) as Chinese seek more financial products, the banking regulator said yesterday.

 

The sales, which include mutual funds and investments overseas on behalf of clients, totaled nearly 600 billion yuan in the first nine months of 2007, the China Banking Regulatory Commission said in a statement posted on its Website yesterday.

 

A total of 1,643 personal wealth management products were sold by banks in the first nine months, the regulator said.

 

Chinese are seeking more financial products due to the country's rising economy.

 

The booming stock market also offers banks a platform to sell related financial products, such as bidding on new shares and services under the qualified domestic institutional investors scheme, where banks pool client money to invest in overseas capital markets.

 

The regulator also cautioned investors to be aware of risks in such products.

 

(Shanghai Daily January 3, 2008)