Reviews for Corporate Governance in China and Financial Reform in China's Transition Economy

The average rating for Corporate Governance in China and Financial Reform in China's Transition Economy based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-05-29 00:00:00 Armando Eskobar Yuanyuan discusses well the problems of the Chinese banking industry by first elucidating what the problems are to begin with and then makes an attempt (a successful one I should say) at finding possible solutions by looking at the distant past. The author begins with some general historical remarks - with particular emphasis on the inflow of foreign banks - from the end of the Opium wars in the 1840s up to the end of the 19th century. Then he makes an analysis of Daqing Bank (subsequently the Bank of China) in the environment from late 19th century up to China's takeover by Mao's communist regime in 1949. The bank's history takes us from the ending of the Qing dynasty (1890s upto 1911), through the warlord period of 1912 to 1928 and then over the period where China was ruled by KMT (The Chinese National Party, who later fled to Taiwan) from 1928 to 1949. In the beginning, China's own banks were weak and dominated by foreign banks. These banks developed by taking up various foreign banking methods such as limited liability schemes and double book keeping. As the Qing dynasty collapsed, warlords took control of the banks resulting in high level of corruption in the form of embezzlements, fraud and the like. Later they were able to losen this grip and thus to form an effective corporate governance structure making Bank of China the largest big in China. However, as the banks were taken over in 1935 by the Government, corruption rose to an all time high reaching its peak by the late 1940s. The problems posed throughout the late 1930s to 1940s are similar to the ones China faces today. There is a serious need for a drastic change in the corporate governance in primarily China's government controlled banks and thus perhaps one can use the historical experience of Bank of China in the 1920s to mid 1930s. Incentive schemes, changes in employment methodology, proper checks and balances, changes in the relationship between central banks and local banks, modern record-keeping systems and the like are all potential changes that can be used in unison to help prevent further white-collar crimes and other problems. Overall I should say that the book is well-written with a highly interesting account of China's banking history between late 19th century to 1949 and that anyone who wishes to get an insight into both today's and the past's problems in Chinese banking would be advised to read it. My only complaint is his every so often personal infusion of his own political conviction about the role of the state in both the banking industry and the economy at large; it is arguably an improper input in an analytical book like this. It is not a major issue though and does not take much from the rest of the analysis.

Review # 2 was written on 2018-10-06 00:00:00 Angela KAY Overall the information presented was done in a way that is standard for a textbook. The main issue is that even though the authors keep releasing newer editions my teacher was quick to point out that a lot of the information was years out of date or was just plain incorrect to start with.