HONG KONG -- The centralization of Chinese financial regulation unveiled at this year's National People's Congress strikes many investors as sign of Beijing's concern about the big debts piled up by local governments and their off-budget funding vehicles.
Under the changes made at its annual parliamentary session, China's existing banking and insurance regulator will be replaced by a new agency called the National Financial Regulatory Administration. The People's Bank of China will focus more on macro-economic issues and less on financial regulation.
