ICBC expects Chinese credit card use to jump 40%-50%

05/28/07 - newratings.com

LONDON, May 28 (newratings.com) - Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd (ICK) Monday said that it expects expenditure by credit cards in China to rise by 40%-50% in the current year.

The largest commercial lender in China said total credit card expenditure this year should rise to between 140 billion yuan and 150 billion yuan, from about 100 billion yuan in the previous year. The head of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s credit card centre, Li Weiping, said that the company had issued 15 million credit cards, representing a 27% market share. Weiping added that the company hopes to raise its market share in the upcoming years.