PBOC governor expects 7% GDP growth in second half

(ECNS) -- People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said China's economy is expected to grow 7 percent in the second half of this year with the future priority of ensuring financial stability.

Zhou made the statement during a panel discussion at a Group of 30 seminar in Washington, held in conjunction with International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings.

The main driving force now is rapid growth in household consumption, said Zhou, adding added value from tertiary industries accounted for 55 percent of GDP, compared to 40 percent 15 years ago.

Zhou said shadow banking activities have slowed in response to China's efforts to reduce financial risk two years ago.

The asset management business is "relatively complicated" because the three regulators overseeing the industry set different rules, but agreements have been reached to streamline supervision after China established a committee focused on financial stability and development in July, according to Zhou.

Some Internet firms without financial licenses may "cause certain competition and financial stability problems," it was added.

Zhou added a regulatory policy towards large private companies who acquired financial service licenses through merging but were suspected of involvement in connected transactions was still lacking.